One Day at a Time
by millythompson
Summary: The Humanoid Typhoon finds himself inexplicably attracted to one of the Insurance Girls... And she likes him back... But will jealousy make things difficult for them to be happy? (Goofiness & Romance Anime-style)
1. Day One The Game

_Disclaimer and what-not: Anime based, characters are copyrighted by Yasuhiro Nightow and respected affiliates and all those names I'm too lazy to write here. Thanks to everyone for reading – chapter two is coming up shortly!_

* * *

Vash stood admiring himself in the mirror. Thank goodness for the tailor in town because he wasn't sure he'd ever get his coat back in order after the quick draw tournament. No one noticed it but him but one of the snaps was bent, it still smelled like tomatoes, so he went in search of a tailor in May City. Luckily for him he got a bit of time off from being followed as the two insurance girls went to get the money they owed him from their branch office; _finally_. Speak of the devil; he tilted his sunglasses off his eyes as the insurance girls walked into the store behind him. The little bell above the door jingled merrily and the taller of the two waved at him. "Hey Mr. Vash! Funny running into you here! Here's your money! Thanks for the bus ride!" Milly dashed over, shoved the money at him and smiled.

He took it, counted out what he needed for the repair to his coat, and turning, he push his glasses back up his nose; "You've been following me for months now… Not much of a coincidence is it?" Vash walked past them to the front desk and set down ten double dollars. "Thanks for fixing the snaps," he said to the man behind the counter and turned to leave. He felt a bit bad as he noticed the big girl pout and turn her attention away from him, but he knew it was about time that they part ways. But the little insurance girl was right behind him.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Out?" Vash started walking again, but she had both hands on her hips looking at him as if she'd swallowed a bug. "What is it?"

"You…" Meryl pointed at Milly, "You worked your wiles on her didn't you?"

The sunglasses slid down Vash's nose, "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." He looked up at Milly as she picked up a necklace and held it into the light. She twirled it in admiration and then set it down after seeing the price. He frowned. Didn't they pay the insurance girls enough to buy such trinkets? Vash stuck his hands in his pockets and thought of the double dollars he just received. He did have enough to buy it… But Meryl was still there looking at him evilly. "What? We went out for dinner last night when you were busy writing your report. I invited you to come along."

Meryl's eyes narrowed, "That's just it. Now Milly won't stop talking about you. It's starting to get on my nerves." She put her hand on his chest and pushed him backwards. "What is it that you did to her anyway?"

Vash looked up at Milly. She had found a seat near the dressing rooms, patiently waiting for her elder to finish talking to him. Her eyes kept moving over to that necklace. Vash frowned when he looked back down at Meryl. "She told me that you were always so busy working that the two of you never had any fun. I thought it would be nice if we all went out. Well, after the second glass of wine…" He grinned but found himself pushed against a coat rack. "Hey, what's that for?"

"Did you sleep with her?"

"No way!" Vash put his hands up to avoid another punch in the stomach from Meryl. "I just kissed her, that's all." He smiled to himself; it was a pretty nice kiss too… Holding her in his arms and feeling just how soft she was, just like Wolfwood said she was… He'd given Vash some good advice on the girls after they had gone home the night before the quick draw contest. Wolfwood opened his eyes to them, suddenly they weren't just pests, but they were _women_ and he felt it every time he saw them. Especially Milly and her ample… assets. She certainly knew how to cut loose and Wolfwood said that if he weren't a priest he would have been all over her. Vash thought it would be a good opportunity after failing to win over Neil's mother. But Meryl… "I'd have kissed you, if you'd been the one there."

That got him slapped and Meryl huffed out of the store without another word. Milly stood and started to follow. "Milly…" Vash came up behind her and she turned.

"Yes Mr. Vash?"

He nodded to the display where she'd been admiring the necklace. "Did you want that?"

Milly turned red, "I… Uh… Well, it's pretty but I don't ever wear jewelry, only Meryl… She has her favorite earrings but I…" She looked into Vash's eyes and he could tell that she was saying 'yes' behind all of her excuses not to have it. He reached down, picked it up and strode up to the counter even as Milly followed behind, "You don't have to…."

Vash turned, "Yes, I think I do." He paid for the necklace and spun on his heel. "Turn around, let me put it on you." Milly was still blushing, but she turned and he unclasped it and slid it around her neck. Once he had it clasped again he put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her over to the mirror he'd been examining when the girls arrived. "It looks nice on you."

"Uh… I don't know what to say," Milly said, putting a hand up to it, her expression was awed that someone would buy something like that for her.

"Just say thank you," Vash replied, setting his arms over her shoulders. She turned another shade of pink and he held her like that until the surprise slowly melted from her face.

"Thank you," she said. Milly closed her eyes and sighed, "I'm sorry about Meryl. I… I didn't want to tell her about last night but I just couldn't help talking about it because I had such a nice time…"

"Me too," Vash replied. He set his cheek against her head and closed his eyes as well. "It's nice being here like this. Almost… It's almost normal."

Milly pulled away from him and turned. "You can't have normal can you? Being a gunman and all?"

Vash opened his eyes and shook his head, "No, I can't."

She reached up and grabbed his hand, "Well, maybe you can't have it permanently, but what would you say to one day?"

"What are you suggesting?"

Milly put a free finger to her lips and looked up at the ceiling, "I don't want to sound too forward but… I was thinking maybe we could you know… pretend?" She nibbled on her finger in such an interesting way that Vash was tempted to kiss her again right then and there in the store. But he didn't and pulled himself away from her. Milly turned to look at him, "Sure you're a great gunman and all but what if you just pretended you weren't for an afternoon? We could go out for lunch maybe and…" Milly trailed off, "It's stupid."

Vash shook his head, "No, no… Actually, that might not be such a bad idea. You need to stay away from your superior for a few hours until she cools down, and I don't have anything better to do." He grinned and pulled her out of the store and into the street. "I have just the place to start this game of pretend…"

* * *

Milly sat in the shade of the old hotel, swaying back and forth on a swing someone hung for the ladies in town. Vash sat next to her, head on her shoulder, snoozing. She looked down at him from time to time, but he seemed so comfortable that she didn't want to disturb him, even as Meryl walked past giving her one of the nastiest expressions she'd ever seen her friend wear. "What's wrong Meryl?"

"You… He's a womanizer, Milly."

Vash opened an eye that Meryl couldn't see from the street and whispered to Milly, "Do you think she's jealous?"

Shrugging, Milly said to Meryl, "Do you want to join us? Mr. Vash was telling me the most delightful story about his childhood." The reply she got was for Meryl to huff away again and disappear into the tavern a few doors down. Milly looked at Vash as he sat up. "I think I may have made her mad. I should have gone back to the hotel a few hours ago to help her out and…" She sighed, "I'm sorry Mr. Vash but I should probably go soon."

"Not so fast," he said as she tried to pull away to follow her senpai, "Have you ever seen her drink?"

Milly shook her head, "No… Well, yes, once, but she had a good reason. It was right after she broke up with her last boyfriend. It was right about the time we got assigned to you, actually. He asked her to marry him and she turned him down because he was going to make her quit her job. Meryl is too independent to be stuck as a housewife…" Her eyes fell on Vash's for a moment and she added, "Not like she isn't good with children, because she is… I just don't think that she wanted to give up her life either."

"What about you?"

"Me?" Milly set an elbow on the arm of the porch swing and leaned onto it. "I… I just got a job to be able to send money back home for my family. The job isn't really all that important to me. All of my sisters are married and have children. I wanted to do that to, but when I turned twenty my family pretty much gave up trying to get me married off. Said I'd become a spinster."

"You sew?"

"A bit," she replied. "But it's just an expression, Mr. Vash."

Vash frowned at her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, "Don't call me 'mister' anymore, okay? It's too formal…"

"I suppose I could…" Milly smiled and leaned over into his arms. "But that would mean it's not a job anymore, and we were only playing this game for a day, right?"

"Would it be so bad to extend it?" Vash squeezed her tightly and sighed. "I was thinking we could have a few more days like this. If you didn't mind."

Milly closed her eyes, "No, I wouldn't mind. But Meryl…"

"Yes… Where _is_ Meryl?" A voice spooked Milly into opening her eyes. She looked up at Wolfwood. He stood where Meryl had been a few minutes before, looking darkly at them. Milly thought it was kind of interesting that the priest was so serious now after his rambunctious drinking the two nights before, and his own interest in the restaurant lady. Suddenly he was all business, although she hadn't seen him for awhile and thought he may have gone back to work.

"What a surprise, Mr. Priest!" Milly grinned at him. "I thought we weren't going to see you again."

"Apparently," he replied. "Where's the little insurance girl? Shouldn't she be here with…" He nodded to Vash as if he weren't sitting there. "Because I thought she liked him."

Vash lifted an eyebrow, "You think so?" He shrugged, all he'd gotten was a dozen knocks on the head and more bruises than he could count from the little one. If she liked him it was sure a childish way of showing it. He hitched a thumb toward the road, "She went into the tavern over there, if you wanted to know. If the insurance girl liked me so much she would have come to dinner with us the other day." He kissed Milly on the forehead gently, "I kind of like it here." She turned a shade a new shade of pink Vash noted.

Wolfwood nodded slowly with a frown plastered on his face and replied, "What's with you two all of a sudden?"

"A game," Milly smiled. "We decided to act like normal people today. But I forgot to tell Meryl…" She bit her lip, "I really should go and tell her…"

"I'll do it," Wolfwood said, an amused expression finally breaching his face at the big girl's words. "A game you say? That's it?" Milly nodded but she wasn't sure what Vash was thinking about all this, a moment before he was saying something that seemed to her as if it _wasn't._ "All right then. Maybe I'll go see if she needs help finishing her drink…" He wandered down the road after Meryl and Milly looked at Vash.

"What a nice surprise. Everyone is together again." Vash shrugged and Milly elbowed him. "I hope she understands when Mr. Priest tells her..."

"She probably won't."

Milly stretched and put her legs out in front of them, stopping the swing. "I feel really bad about Meryl…"

"What does it matter? We're adults," Vash said, but Milly was frowning. "Okay, I give, what is it you're thinking?"

"I know, but I just can't stand thinking I'm betraying her by doing this. She's the independent type, but I think she really wants to have someone and even if I'm playing…" Milly thought for a moment, and then she shrugged back into the swing and let her feet up. She stared up into the bright sky where small wispy clouds floated by. "Every woman has to have a _reason_ to be dependant… I feel bad because Meryl hasn't had a boyfriend in such a long time and I think she's using you as an excuse not to get herself a new one."

Vash let the swing sway back and forth and he too looked up into the sky, his legs straight out in front of them like he were a five year old. "I guess I can understand that. Maybe the priest…"

Milly punched him softly in the shoulder and he glanced at her. "He's a _priest_, goodness. What do you expect him to do, sweep her off her feet and take her to the confessional?" She blushed at the thought. Vash thought it was a mighty cute expression on her face, thinking dirty thoughts like that made her look more mature even with the red flush across her face. He curled his left leg up under his butt and made to lean on Milly's shoulder but she moved abruptly and he bumped his nose. She giggled, "Oops."

"Ib's all bright," Vash mumbled, rubbing his nose. Milly watched him and smiled. He dropped his hand from his nose and leaned toward her. "So tell me something."

"Yeah?"

Vash put his fingers up into Milly's hair, letting the strands fall over his hand. "So if Meryl's been using me as an excuse not to get a boyfriend, what's been your excuse not to get one?" He let his fingers tangle in her long bangs as he brushed his hand over her forehead.

"I…" Milly flushed again, her eyes dropping beneath those long thick lashes. Vash felt his heart flop. It really didn't matter what Meryl said to him about being a womanizer, the truth was he'd been watching both of them and it was Milly who had all of the little cute features. The sparkling blue eyes, the soft eyebrows, the long lashes, a strand of hair that curled in just such a way as it ran down her neck behind her ear… "I don't… I'm not sure what kind of excuse I have… I just… Maybe…" She was clasping her hands in her lap, her toes dragging in the sand beneath the swing. "I was too caught up in enjoying myself when I was younger. Guys didn't look for girls who wore their hair down, didn't wear makeup, ran around and got muddy. I didn't think anything of it until later and by that time I had this…"

"What did you have?"

Milly smiled slightly, "I had this mantra that I said any time I did something a normal girl wouldn't do, 'I'm not trying to impress anyone,' that's what I would say. Well, I never did impress anyone and so everyone just left me alone. After awhile I guess I started to think that if I actually wanted to have a boyfriend I needed to change and do the girlie things, but by that time I was afraid if I _did_ then I would change and I didn't want myself to become someone I couldn't stand just for a boyfriend." She lifted her eyes to him and brushed a bang out of her mouth, "But then you came along… And I have to admit I don't understand why you're even here next to me right now… Sure, we kissed but we were both pretty drunk and we were playing that silly game… But when I woke up in the morning I didn't think anything of telling Meryl about it because I didn't think…"

Vash was leaning forward now, his hand under her chin as he leaned in. Milly blushed, she'd really never had anyone look at her like that, and he was so lovely. His face was so beautiful, it wasn't feminine but the complexion was flawless, his eyebrows were perfect, well, everything about his face was just without error, and she started to wonder if the rest of him was the same way… But the fact was that she was afraid that Meryl might be right, that maybe he was using her for a quick romantic fling before he went off on some other conquest. Did he really care about her? Milly wanted to believe it, the way he set his nose to hers and closed his eyes. She looked down at his nose, at his face and felt his soft lips press against her cheek. Goodness…. If he _didn't_ like her then he certainly made a most convincing argument otherwise!

"Why?"

He chuckled, "Why not? The little insurance girl isn't around."

"No, I mean…" She shut her mouth and toyed with the necklace he had bought her. "I'm not saying I don't like this but… You're just going to leave us one day aren't you? I don't know if this is such a good idea because if I give my heart to you… I'm afraid I won't be able to stand…" Milly squeezed her eyes shut and turned to cling to Vash's coat. She buried her head in his chest, "Don't do this to me!"

Warm arms wrapped around her. His fingers played through her long hair and he stroked her back. "I can't help it."

"Yes… Yes you can. You shouldn't have kissed me… I know perfectly well that you don't actually get drunk… You get sick too easily…" She breathed in the dyed leather and the dust, the gun smoke and aftershave… "Meryl warned me about you because she knew I haven't met anyone else in my life and the first…"

"Was that really your first kiss?" Vash looked down at her curiously, licking his lips. She wasn't all that bad of a kisser if that was the truth. He just didn't understand girls sometimes, but he _wanted_ to understand Milly for some reason. She was just this soft little thing, well, _big_ thing, and she felt so good in his arms, just a bundle of nerves, but she was flesh and bone, something he hadn't experienced in a very long time himself. It was too dangerous to get close to women, no matter how much he flirted and played around with them. Girls in general turned him down the moment they knew his name. It came with the territory and he played up to it. But on occasions he met one that was really special… Milly was special. He had lied to Meryl; sure he would have kissed her just as easily as Milly, but it wouldn't have _meant_ anything. A kiss is just a kiss unless there was feeling behind it. He didn't realize he had a soft spot for the big girl until he saw her sadly rambling during their game of truth or dare. It was just a coincidence that one of the other guys at the table dared him to kiss her. Now he just wanted to do it again and again, and it was all he could do to keep his hands from touching anywhere but innocent places.

"Vash… If you really don't…"

Rolling his eyes, he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up to face him. "I really _do_. I wouldn't have agreed to your proposition if I didn't. I wouldn't have bought the necklace for you… I wouldn't be having such a hard time keeping my eyes off of you." Milly's mouth pouted in such a sweet way he swallowed, wanting to kiss it again, but he settled the thought, running his hands up her shoulders to her neck, under her ears, feeling the soft lobes on his thumbs, the smooth hair under his fingers. "I just wish I'd noticed you sooner."

"But…"

He leaned forward and kissed her cheek lightly, barely brushing the skin with his lips. "I'd really like to be with you for awhile longer, but if you don't want that…"

"I don't know what I want… But I have a feeling it's all going to end so soon…" Milly's hands wrapped around his waist, feeling how gaunt he was below his coat. He was so strong and so gentle it was… She sighed and closed her eyes as he kissed her cheek again, then her jaw, then down her neck and up again to her ear. A tingling ran over her body and he ran his tongue lightly behind her ear. "But if today is it…"

"One day at a time, right?" Vash whispered in her ear. His breath was soft like a flower petal on her cheek. "But I promise, as long as spring days are, we'll make the most of these peaceful moments." He nibbled on her ear, and then pulled away for a moment. Milly opened one eye to look at him and he was smiling, those aqua eyes peering into hers with the same emotions as the words he spoke. "As long as that's okay with you… It is okay with you, isn't it, Milly?"

She was silent a moment, but her mind reeled… If she said no then she could end this now, end the whole thing before everything went too far. It was silly to have even suggest they play this little game of cuddling and dating but she was just so _tired_ of being single when her sisters were all married and happy… But if she said no then she'd regret it for the rest of her life. If she said yes then she knew she'd go much farther… And perhaps if Vash did leave within a day or even months from then she'd regret giving her heart to him because she wouldn't be able to get it back… What was more painful? His brows drooped slightly as she was taking too much time to answer him. Finally she blurted, "Yes! Yes, that's okay…" Her words carried off into the wind as he kissed her again, his lips parting hers as his tongue flickered between them. Her entire body felt like pudding, and if she'd been standing she would have dropped to her knees right then, but in the absence of that she felt like she would fall apart. Milly hoped she made the right choice… But then again, perhaps there were no right choices, only the choices that could make a moment good or bad… And oh… This felt good…

5


	2. Day One The Opposition

Aggravation filled her bones, made her angry, filtered up through her eyes where everything looked like a strange haze, and she pushed through into the bar before she knew where her feet were headed. Meryl sat down at the nearest table, her eyes turned back through the window to the outside where Milly and Vash still sat on their swing. She closed her eyes and turned to look at the scarred table with the cigarette burns and words carved by knife point. There were various obscenities, many of which were going through her head at the moment.

She wasn't jealous… That was the first thing on her mind at the moment, but she couldn't quite convince herself of that, even upon looking over her shoulder again at the couple as the priest joined their conversation. No, she was just angry that she was right, Milly was the weakest link in this team. Her boss wanted Meryl to take her along because she was never on time and maybe Meryl's strict way of doing things would get her to fall into line. Meryl had argued against it, Milly was a good back up, but she wasn't a fighter, her heart wasn't into the job either, and this was proof of it. But she never bothered to tell Milly about the conversation between her and the boss, she just told her friend that she wouldn't have anyone else with her during this trip. It was partially the truth, she wouldn't trust her back to anyone else, but at this point Meryl realized she would have been better off by herself.

Mr. Wolfwood came into the bar a few moments later and he looked down on her with an odd expression, nodding to the bar. "You want me to buy you a drink?"

"Gin and tonic," Meryl murmured, not wanting to look at him. He nodded and went to the bar for a few minutes before returning with a bottle of whiskey and the gin and tonic Meryl ordered. He set it all down, took the shot glass from its spot on the bottle and popped the cork. "You really a priest?"

A smile spread over his lips as Wolfwood poured himself some of the rich colored liquid. "You _need_ a priest, little girl?"

"The name is _Meryl_," she said with her lips to her drink, smelling the lime on the edge of the glass. "I don't need a priest per se, but I've got a morality problem, if you're in the listening mood."

Wolfwood shrugged his shoulders and reached into his front pocket, "You mind if I smoke while you talk?"

"No," Meryl replied. She leaned over the table, putting the glass on the marred surface, her hands still on the cool glass. Wolfwood put the cigarette to his lips and striking a match on his heel, he lit it. After taking a few test puffs, he took the smoke from his mouth and held it out in front of him. "What would you do if your best friend was doing that?" She watched as his gray eyes lifted from her to the window behind her. Meryl couldn't bear to look again at the moment.

The priest chuckled, putting his chin in his palm, "You think the big girl has abandoned you?"

"She's abandoned her _job_," Meryl corrected, "Her duty…"

"Even working girls need a vacation from time to time," he said, drinking his whiskey. "I don't exactly like the idea that she's taken up with Needle Noggin myself but…" Wolfwood's eyes twinkled, "Shall I tell you what they just told me a few moments ago?"

Violet eyes peered through dark bangs, "I'm not sure I _want_ to know."

"It's quite amusing actually," he said with a smirk, and then put the cigarette back into his mouth. "The big girl says it's a game."

"A game? Really…" Meryl pushed her hair out of her eyes and glanced over her shoulder… Vash was… She turned suddenly, "Looks more than a game to me." Vash had just kissed Milly and it didn't exactly look like they were playing anymore… She turned red, her eyes were narrowed as she looked down at her glass. "What are the rules of this game?"

"They're playing 'normal' people," he smiled, chuckling. It was really funny, an ace gunman and an insurance girl pretending… It was funny, but at the same time it irked him. Milly was soft and sweet, and he could imagine hanging out with her again if he could finish with his business… He shook his head and looked at the little insurance girl, "You like Vash don't you?"

Meryl looked up at him fiercely, "No."

"Sure…" Wolfwood wasn't convinced, "I see the way you're always watching him, and it isn't just because he's a job." He leaned over the table, "You're just jealous that the big girl got to him first."

"I am not!" Meryl protested but suddenly she found Wolfwood's hand on her wrist and the grip was quite firm. She looked away from his amused expression and sighed, "I'm working, and so is Milly. Neither of us is allowed to just drop our way of lives just because of some stupid womanizer, no matter who he is. He's dangerous and he's our job." Meryl looked down at her captured wrist, the priest was slowly rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. She swallowed, "What are you doing?"

Wolfwood's eyes were soft as he smiled, pulling his cigarette from his mouth and putting it out in the ashtray. "Tell me something. Does it bug you more that it's Vash that she's hanging out with, or just that she _has_ someone?"

Meryl swallowed, "You think I don't want her to be happy?"

The priest moved his hand to put his fingers in her palm, "Would it make you feel better if you had someone to play a game with as well?"

"What?" Meryl pulled her hand back suddenly and looked at him, "What in the world…"

Chuckling, Wolfwood got to his feet and he looked down at her, "Think about it." He came around the table, and leaned toward her, Meryl swallowed as he moved her chair to face him. She sat in wide-eyed surprise as he put his hands on the chair on either side of her hips, his smoky breath so close to her face. "You're right, Vash _is_ dangerous. But, if you want him, then I'll take the big girl away from him. Or you can have another playmate." He smiled and kissed her on the cheek before straightening. "Let me know tomorrow." Then he spun on his heal and waved at the bartender, "Where's the can?"

The bartender pointed to the back and Wolfwood nodded, "Thanks." He disappeared and Meryl just sat there shocked. After a long moment she reached her fingers up to the spot where he'd kissed her and then shook her head wildly. What in the world was going on here? What kind of twisted game was going on here? Neither man had paid her or Milly any mind so why the sudden change? Was it mating season or something? What he was proposing… What kind of priest was he? Meryl stood from her seat and grabbing her drink, finished it off and after the initial heat of the alcohol subsided she turned and looked out the window.

She didn't need the priest's help… No… She'd find her own way to break up this little charade by herself. Meryl didn't want to hurt her friend's feelings, but this was all business. A smile came to her lips, yes, and who knew business better than her?

Notes: Thanks to everyone for reviewing, there's more to come! If you find any mistakes drop me an email, I've always wanted to write this type of story before, so it's something of a challenge!

2


	3. Day One The Rules

Milly parted with Vash in good spirits when she saw Meryl exit the bar with a smile on her face. It was an odd moment really, the little girl wandered out of the saloon and a moment later Wolfwood followed, but turned in the opposite direction and disappeared. Even though she had promised Vash that their "game" wasn't over, she really did need to get to work because now that Meryl was headed back to the hotel she'd undoubtedly need to file paperwork which was Milly's expertise, not so much Meryl's. Sure, Meryl was organized, but she had her own form of organization and a normal human being wouldn't be able to figure it out without a map and compass.

Dashing after Meryl, she soon caught up with her, "You're in good spirits I see."

The little insurance girl nodded with an odd smile spread across her face, her eyes glazed over as if she were in another world, and Milly thought it strange because her senpai was never like that… Oh, then again, she was like that on occasions when she drank, but this was a bit different. They walked a block before Meryl snapped out of her odd mood, stopped walking and turned to look at Milly. "How long have you been there?"

"Um, a few minutes now, didn't you hear me?" Milly was worried, this wasn't like Meryl at all…

But Meryl just shook her head, "Oh yes, I heard you, I'm fine."

Milly lifted an eyebrow, "Are you sure?"

"Yes… So, when's this little game of yours going to be over with anyway? Mr. Wolfwood told me about it, and even though I don't like it, I suppose I don't have any say in the matter?"

Falling into step, Milly felt a stirring in the pit of her stomach. Now that she was away from the humanoid typhoon she felt guilty for her little suggestion… Even more so now that she was walking next to Meryl and was being questioned about it. Her head dropped as she walked and she stared at the dirt road. "I'm sorry Meryl… I don't know what I was thinking really… It just… Well," she put her foot down into the dirt and stopped walking. Meryl glanced over her shoulder and stopped as well, waiting for the answer. Milly summed up her courage, "That's just it Meryl, I really _like_ Mr. Vash. He's a really nice guy once you get to know him, which is something you've never really bothered to do I've noticed… And I felt really sorry for him the other day because we were talking at the bar when you were doing your work and he said that no matter how hard he tried to ask girls out they always avoided him. I know you're always grumbling at him, but when he was out there with those kids he really looked like he was hurt when that girl rejected him. So I started thinking to myself what it would be like to be around Vash all the time, what it would be like to be his girlfriend and it really didn't bug me all that much, in fact I kinda liked the idea." Milly paused and Meryl waited for her to continue. "So when you left the store this morning Mr. Vash bought me this necklace and I thought, why not ask him?"

She fiddled with the little necklace Vash had bought her. It wasn't extravagant or flashy, just a little silver feather on a chain. She wasn't even sure why it caught her eye but it reminded her of Mr. Vash for some reason. "I told him that we could go out today and act like we were a normal girl and guy going out on a date and he said that he'd like that."

"Of _course_ he'd like that Milly, he's a _guy_…"

"But Meryl!"

Meryl rolled her eyes and put a hand on Milly's arm, "Look, I know you haven't had much experience with men, so let me spell it out for you. A guy only likes you as long as he can get something out of you, and then once he has, he'll leave you."

"But Mr. Vash…"

"Listen to me!" Meryl shook Milly's arm, a dark scowl on her face. Milly only saw that expression her senpai on rare occasions. It scared her and she stopped talking, closed her mouth and waited for Meryl to continue. "I just don't want you to get hurt, Milly. We're following Mr. Vash around so of course you'd get attached to him, I know you, you're just too softhearted for this detail, but I thought we'd make a good team on this trip. You're good at paperwork too so our boss was happy when I agreed to take you out of the office. But that also means I'm your superior, and I have a say about what happens, and I could easily send you back to December if you aren't working out!"

Milly's eyes went wide. "But Meryl! Please, don't make me go back! I hate office life!"

Meryl sighed, her hand dropping to her side, "Then leave him alone and let's get back to work."

"But…"

"It's your decision Milly…" Meryl waved a hand and turned back down the street, "I'll give you until Mr. Vash decides to leave May City. Do whatever you like, but if you're still clinging onto him when we step foot outside of this city then you can either kiss Mr. Vash goodbye or kiss your job goodbye."

Milly stood where she was, numb. She watched Meryl disappear around the corner down the street to their hotel. How could she _do_ this? How could Meryl just make her decide like this! Especially after she told Vash that she'd give him some more time… And she really did like him, he was such a kind man, even being a gunman he was so mysterious and funny… But Meryl was her friend too, and they'd worked for such a long time together and had been through so much! And now she wanted her to decide! Why did she have to be so cruel?

Without realizing it, Milly found herself sitting on the sidewalk. People walked by her with odd expressions as she just stared down the street where Meryl left her. Someone stopped and asked her if she was okay, and Milly just nodded, got to her feet and started to walk. She couldn't decide right now, not after the wonderful day she spent with Vash. But that feeling in the pit of her stomach returned and she wanted to heave… Had she really made the right decisions today or had she let her curiosity get the best of her? Milly felt wobbly and wanted to sit down again, but as she looked around she found herself on the outskirts of town, and the sun was going down and it was getting dark very quickly. She fell to her knees and just started to cry.

For the first time in her life she really was thinking about her _own_ happiness, not that of her family, of her friends, of anyone else. She thought she was making the right decision just to have a bit of fun, didn't other girls do that sort of thing all the time? Weren't there girls who just picked up a different guy every night? There were plenty of them! So why couldn't she be like that? That's what she'd really been thinking when Vash was being so friendly with her that morning. It was as if that dared kiss was like a signal to start something, and she got so caught up in the moment she dared to think that for once something might happen! Of course, she thought that when Mr. Priest put his head on her shoulder on the bus, but the next day he was completely cold to her and took off. Then he ignored her the next day so she didn't think anything of it. He was tired, she had soft shoulders, but it was completely innocent.

But Vash wasn't like that at all! He kissed her, walked her up to her room that night and she couldn't stop thinking about it the entire night. Her first kiss! With someone so grand like him! Sure he was a gunman but he didn't kill anyone. He wasn't anything like all the rumors, he was just this sweet man with a donut obsession from when he was a kid. He told her so many stories of his childhood and his mother and it was just all so sweet… And besides, he was too young to have caused the destruction of July City, so there was no proof that any of the rumors were true, except maybe that trouble did seem to follow him, but he never went after it! And then he told her that he liked her and he wanted to spend more time with _her_…

Sniffling now, Milly wiped her face. She couldn't decide right now. It was impossible! Maybe she could ask Vash to stay in May City forever. Then Meryl would have to keep her word and the priest could keep Meryl company, and she and Vash… "No, that's just silly…" Milly smiled to herself but she knew if anyone saw her face, they'd probably think she was about to cry again. She desperately wanted to go back to the hotel, to go to bed, but she knew she couldn't because Meryl would be there and she couldn't face her.

Finally with a deep breath, she got back up to her feet and looked around her. It was dark now and she wasn't sure where she was. Hopefully in her wanderings she had gone in a straight line, so turning on her heal, she headed back the way she was pretty sure she'd come. Some of the houses were dark, but most of them were well lit, it was only the second day of April after all and the suns set fairly early since it was still early spring. Most everyone was still up, many were having dinner, and she was able to find her way back to the street where the hotel sat, where the day before vendors were selling hotdogs and other treats during the quick draw tournament.

Milly wished she could go back to the day before, just so she could have dragged Meryl along with her to the bar that night. Then things would have been okay, they wouldn't have gotten into that mess and… Her stomach growled. Milly grimaced, she hadn't eaten anything since lunch and she was starting to think about those hotdogs again… The little restaurant where Mr. Vash had helped out was still open, and as she passed it by, she stopped and reached into her pocket for her change purse. Luckily the branch office supplied them with their monthly paychecks and even though she could have bought the necklace Vash gave her herself, she was thrifty, she had to send some of it home. At least until her parents were paid back for the money Milly used to travel to December in the first place, plus the toma, and the first month's rent. She'd sold the toma and sent that home, and she was almost finished paying for all of the other expenses her mother had footed for her to get her job in December City. Only a bit more and she'd be done and not have to worry about scrounging for c-cents.

Nodding to herself, she turned and went into the restaurant. She'd have enough money to spend on this little luxury. The little boy, she believed Vash called him Neil, yelled to his mom and dad behind the counter that they had a customer, and Milly sat down at the bar. "What would you like, Miss?" The woman asked, smiling.

"Oh, I'm not sure…" Milly glanced around, noticed there was a menu up on the wall, scanned the list and replied, "A BLT, some tea, and do you have anything for dessert?"

The woman started to list off the dessert menu when the door to the restaurant jangled and Milly turned to look at the new customer. "Why hello Mr. Vash! Thank you again so much for your help yesterday!" Milly's heart skipped a beat and she turned instantly and looked down at the placemat in front of her.

She wanted to cry all over again as he recognized her and sat down beside her. "Milly! What are you doing here? I thought you went back to do work." He grinned and ordered some fried rice before noticing that she was doing her hardest to avoid looking at him. "What's wrong?"

Milly swallowed, "I um… That ice cream you mentioned sounded good, I'll have that too," she managed to say to the woman who turned and went to prepare the orders. Vash's hand settled down on her arm and she closed her eyes, this wasn't good, she couldn't face him right now… Not after what her senpai said. "Everything's just wrong Mr. Vash."

"What do you mean?" He moved his head to look into her face, and then brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "What happened? Are you crying?"

Milly choked back a sob and put her hands to her face, "No…"

"Milly," Vash wasn't sure what to do. The girl seemed happy not long before, so what had happened between her leaving and now? He reached out and put his arms around her head and pulled her into his chest. She started to sob and wrapped her arms around his stomach. Other people in the restaurant were looking their way, confused and concerned about the young woman crying, but Vash didn't pay them any mind. "Tell me what happened."

"She's going to fire me!"

"What?"

Milly couldn't look up at him, she tried to control her tears because it really was embarrassing but what could she do? She was in such a tough spot, and here was Vash and he was just so nice to her and did all of the right things… Every time she was near him she just wanted to be close to him and now she was worried that every minute she stayed with him it was ruining her chances at the life her family helped her get. What would they think if she wrote home to say she was dating the humanoid typhoon? Her mother would be shocked and her sisters would think she'd gone right daft… "I'm sorry Mr. Vash but as much as I like you… I have responsibilities to my family and Meryl… Meryl… She said she'd either have me fired or send me back to December City for reassignment!"

Vash frowned. That little woman was surely a pain in his… Well, she had caused him more than a few bruises during the last few days, and now she'd even managed to bruise his ego. Did she really have the right to threaten Milly with such a thing? He wanted to storm out of there right then and force her to take back what she said to Milly, but the way the big girl was clinging to him, he wasn't sure he could. "Damn it," he said quietly, helping Milly to sit up and handing her a napkin to wipe her nose. She sat up as she took it from him. He turned on his stool and looked down at the fried rice Neil's mother placed in front of him. Suddenly he wasn't very hungry. "I'm sorry."

Blowing her nose, Milly looked down at her plate. Her stomach growled even though it was so upset. Setting down the napkin, she put her elbows on the counter and stared at her food. "I'm sorry too… I've really enjoyed myself but the moment we step foot outside of May I've got to decide…" She reached out and grabbed her teacup and placed it to her lips, taking a small sip of the hot liquid. The cup still sat on her lower lip as she added, "You or my job, that's what Meryl said."

They both sat there for a long time, Milly feeling the steam of the tea hitting her nose, Vash staring at his cooling rice. People weren't whispering about their show anymore, going back to their previous conversations. And after awhile Milly placed the cup down in front of her and started to eat her sandwich. Vash followed suit until they both had empty plates in front of them and the woman came back and gave Milly her ice cream and Vash ordered one for himself. When they were finished, they were both handed their bills, but when Milly reached out for hers, Vash snatched it away. "I'll pay for it," he said slowly.

"Thank you," Milly replied, watching him take out his wallet and placing the money on the table. Then she looked down at her necklace… "Mr. Vash?"

"Yes?" He didn't look at her.

"I think maybe I should give you this necklace back… You should take it back to the store…"

"No," Vash said, his eyes saddened. "Keep it. I'd rather have you keep it, besides the guy said no returns or exchanges."

"Oh."

Vash started to stand, and Milly followed him with her eyes. He stood, putting his hands on the countertop and then he looked at her, determination crossed his features. "You said you don't have to decide until we leave May City right?" Milly nodded and he continued, "Then I'm not leaving. I want the days you promised me." He reached out and put a hand on her cheek and her bottom lip started to quiver. Milly tried her darndest not to cry again as he looked at her with that sweet face. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, eight sharp, we're going to have breakfast."

Milly watched as he turned and disappeared out the door. The bells jingled and then were quiet again, and finally she stood, a hand to the cheek Vash had just touched. She wasn't sure what to do… what to say… Suddenly she was really tired and it didn't matter that she had to face Meryl. Milly left the restaurant and went back to the hotel, walked up the steps, knocked on the door and her friend opened it. Meryl didn't say a word, just went back to her typing and Milly went into her room. She shucked off her coat, took off her tie and suspenders and got into her pajamas. She could still hear the clicking of the typewriter as she slipped into bed and fell asleep.


	4. Day Two The Game Continues

_Anime based after "Quick Draw" - thanks to all of my reviewers! There's a lot more to come!_

The next day there was a sharp rap at the door and Milly woke up startled. Meryl was already dressed, her morning cup of coffee in her hand as she went to see who was at the door that early in the morning. Milly rubbed the salt out of her eyes and yawned. The previous day was just like a dream. Maybe it _was_ a dream. She didn't really feel any different and Meryl was her old self as usual, nothing stopped a Stryfe from getting her work done! And as usual Milly was in bed way past sunrise, even on a spring morning when they didn't come up until nearly seven. She liked sleeping in, it was a pleasure of being a field agent.

"What are you doing here?" Meryl's voice cut through the morning air and Milly sat up in bed. Maybe… Maybe yesterday wasn't just a dream…

"I came to take Milly to breakfast," Vash replied. He pushed his way past Meryl and Milly could hear his footsteps outside of her door, "Is she up yet?" There was a softer knocking at the inner door and Milly's mouth dropped open. She glanced around trying to figure out whether she should get dressed right then or just stay in bed…. What to do? She looked at the alarm clock, eight sharp. When he said he'd be there he wasn't kidding! "Milly? Are you awake?"

"Just a minute!" She managed, scrambling out of bed, then suddenly realizing she had to pee and the bathroom was on the other side of the door! She grabbed her clothes, looking around, goodness but she had to go! But she couldn't just go out there looking like this! Vash would see her! "I'll be out in a bit!" Casting about she made up her mind to dress, slid into her clothes from the day before as fast as she could, crossing her legs the entire time which was a feat to put her pants on that way, and then opening the door, she caught her breath. Man was he gorgeous… But no time, pushing past Vash she nearly shoved him out of the way to get to the bathroom. Slamming the door behind her, she finally relieved herself and with a contented sigh, sunk down on the toilet, her fingers brushing the floor as she looked at the tub.

Then yesterday's events hit her and she sat bolt upright. "Oh my goodness."

"Uh, Milly? You okay in there?"

Milly waved her fingers at the door although a moment later she realized Vash wouldn't see that and said, "Oh yes, I'm fine, just had to go… I'll be out in a minute…" Heart pounding, she stood, pulled up her pants and after flushing looked at herself in the mirror. She looked like a wreck, rings under her eyes, needed a shower, and some clean clothes… And Vash was out there waiting for her to go to breakfast, and if memory served, and she knew it did, he'd been up as early as Meryl, if not earlier. He'd probably decided on a later time for her…

Knowing she didn't have enough time for everything, and her familiar mantra running through her head she thought, _guess he'll just have to accept me for me…_ She took her brush from the vanity, ran it through her hair although it was mighty greasy and she sighed, it looked horrible. Then shaking her head she grabbed her toothbrush, put paste on it and at least took care of her awful morning breath. Finally as good as she was going to get, she opened the door to see Vash standing over Meryl looking at her papers. "Leave it alone…"

"You really are a good writer there… I like this part about the ketchup…" He turned and looked at Milly, "Hey beautiful."

Milly blushed and Meryl's scowl returned. "I'm not. I'm a wreck. I haven't had a shower in two days and I look horrible."

"Nah," Vash said, one eye on Meryl almost as if he were about to say the next bit on purpose to anger her, "You look perfect to me." He came over to her and smiled and Milly had to steal her nerves to not look at Meryl because she could already hear an angered growl forming in her little friend's throat. Vash was smiling, looking stunning as usual, shaved, showered, dressed in a freshly dry-cleaned coat, and his aqua eyes sparkling. "Anyway, shall we go to breakfast? I'm starving."

"Oh… Yeah, okay," Milly said, glancing over at her senpai and feeling the heat coming off her glare. "Um, oh, sorry Meryl, I forgot to…"

"Doesn't matter Milly, do what you want. I can handle the paperwork today." She gritted her teeth, "Have fun."

Milly bit her lip, nodded, and allowed Vash to usher her out into the hallway. When the door was closed he said cheerily, "That went well."

"You're kidding, right?"

Vash shrugged, then wrapped his fingers around her hand and started walking them down the hall. "You feeling okay? You look like you haven't slept."

"I did…" Milly fell to sleep immediately and slept straight through, but it was one of those dreamless sleeps. She couldn't remember any of her dreams like she normally could, and it made her feel kind of empty. "But really, I'm a mess, I didn't get a shower or anything."

"You look fine." Vash looked down at her, "Really, I didn't think you worried about your appearance."

"I do, a little," she said with a sigh, before reaching up her free hand to scratch her head, "It itches when it's dirty, that's all. And I do want breakfast so I guess I'll have to ignore it until later."

Vash nodded, "I'll let you use my shower, how about that?"

Milly glanced at him, her eyes wide, "That's not necessary." But he didn't seem to be thinking anything mischievous as he looked down at her. Just that innocent sweet expression like he didn't have a care in the world as they went down the stairs and out into the street.

"Besides, I have the rest of the day planned out for us, so you won't have time to come back here," he said after a little while.

"Planned?"

Vash smiled, "Yup. It'll be fun. I was talking to Neil and the other kids and they had a great idea for somewhere I should take you in town." He squeezed her hand, "Since we can't leave, I thought I'd make the best of what we've got right here. Besides, I want to make the most of today."

"Okay…" Milly trailed off, trying to make herself happy any way she could. She finally nodded to herself and forced a smile, "I'm sure I'll have lots of fun since you seem to know what you're talking about." She thought about all of the fun he had playing with the children, eating donuts and just goofing off all the time, so really, he did know what it was like to have fun, unlike Meryl who worked all the time. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more the smile on her face turned into a genuine one, happy to be with him, at least for one more day.


	5. Day Two Plan B

_Thanks again to all of my reviewers! I'm having so much fun writing this story, and I'm glad you like it!_

A few minutes later there was another knock on the door and Meryl glanced up, wondering if Milly had forgotten something. She stood up and put her hand on the knob, "What did you forget this time…" Meryl trailed off as she looked up at the priest. He was cleanly shaven, suit pressed, eyes twinkling, and she swallowed as a smile came to his face.

"Expecting someone else?"

Meryl shrugged, turned around a bit too fast and it made her dizzy. But when the blood returned to her head she went and sat down at the table. "No, just thought that Milly may have changed her mind and decided to tell Mr. Vash she wouldn't go out to breakfast with him."

Wolfwood snickered, "Still playing I take it?"

Nodding, Meryl took her coffee cup in her hands and looked at it disdainfully, it was cold. She glanced at the priest, "You want some coffee? I'm going to make another pot."

"Sure," he sat down at the table and waited patiently as she measured out the ground coffee and turned on the coffee maker. Meryl didn't want to look at him, his words were still on her mind from yesterday, and truth be told she hadn't gotten any work done since then. She typed, but everything she wrote was nonsense and when a paper was finished, it was dumped into the waste basket. It was nearly full now. A chair squeaked and after a soft cough Wolfwood said, "You been thinking about my offer?"

Meryl's heart started to beat in her chest. Suddenly it occurred to her that she was completely alone with him now. This wasn't like the night before where they were in a public place, this was a private hotel room. She bit her lip and tried not to spill the coffee as her hands started to shake as she poured. "I think I'll manage to break them up on my own, but thank you for the offer."

"If they're out together today than whatever your first plan was didn't work very well, did it?" Wolfwood chuckled and leaned back in his chair as Meryl turned to hand him a coffee mug. He looked down at it, and then up at her with those deeply mysterious eyes. "You ready for plan B?"

Swallowing, Meryl sat down in her chair, pushed her typewriter to the side and when she felt she'd composed herself enough she looked up at him. "Plan A will work."

"What was it?"

"Milly has until Vash leaves May City or she'll be fired."

Wolfwood sipped his coffee and tilted his head to the side, "You think if she likes this game so much that she won't tell Needle Noggin that?"

Meryl's mouth dropped open and she swore under her breath. The priest was thoroughly impressed, and he was about to say something when Meryl glared at him, "They'll stay here forever unless we do something."

"Indeed," the priest mused. He smiled mischievously, "So we have to get them to leave. It won't be easy either because if Vash is enjoying this as much as the big girl, then he could find a way to stay as long as he pleased. The trick is, we need to find a reason they _can't_ stay here any longer." He sipped his coffee as Meryl thought about the possibilities. After a moment he set his mug down and leaned across the table, "We need to find a way to get the people of May City to make him leave."

"But there aren't any outlaws within ten iles of here after you shot them all two days ago," Meryl said, her mind going over all the possibilities. "Although the heads of the contest aren't happy about what you did, the sheriff was pleased to finally have proof of something corrupt during that contest and other people in the town like him just fine."

Wolfwood nodded, "So he's made a few friends. I can deal with that. You ready to hear my plan?"

Meryl sat for a moment looking at her coffee and then raised her head. "Okay… What do you propose?"


	6. Day Two Breakfast

Down the road and around the corner, in the second building on the left was a small bakery that Vash had been casing for nearly a week. This store was the main reason he had headed through May City. He'd never been in town before for the quick draw tournament since his mind was completely set on this little shop the last time he was through. It opened at precisely eight thirty in the morning and he wanted to be there on time because the donuts they made there caused a line up every morning.

This wasn't the only place he wanted to take Milly that day, but it was a good place to start. The big girl looked droopy as she walked beside him. "You awake there?"

"Uh?" Milly snapped her eyes open, "Yes, I'm okay, I'm just not used to getting up early." She put that fake smile up on her face and Vash tried not to be bothered by it. He had a feeling that as soon as he got something good in her stomach and took her to the special place Neil and the others recommended she'd forget all of the anxiety she had over Meryl's words.

He was still aggravated over it himself. More so than he would have before. Vash lived his life the way he wanted to. He was just fine before the two girls showed up to keep him from having any fun and enjoying his rambunctious lifestyle. A drifter at heart, not a care in the world, happily chasing skirts and occasionally catching one.

Vash glanced behind him as Milly started to drag her feet. She was drooping; eyes hidden behind long bangs. Suddenly he had a splendid idea. "Milly!"

"What…what?" She jumped, looking around.

Pointing into the sky, he said with sudden excitement, "Look! What is that!" Milly looked up where his finger was pointed and he attacked her. Grabbing her sides Vash tickled her, hoping upon hopes she'd be ticklish and Milly did not fail to disappoint.

Milly screamed. "Stop! Stop, oh please!" But she was laughing so hard Vash wouldn't stop until tears rolled down her cheeks. Finally, breathless, and with an audience of townsfolk, she collapsed into his arms. "Oh goodness… I… That was so… You're so mean!" But Milly was smiling, and it was the look of a contented child, pink faced and happy.

"You awake now?" He asked, helping her to stay upright as she caught her breath.

"Yes," she took one last deep breath and added, "I haven't been tickled like that since I was a kid and all of my older brothers would tackle me to the ground."

"We may just have to arrange that for later," Vash said with a twinkle in his eye. Milly put her hands in her armpits and pressed her lips together as if guarding from another attack. Vash laughed, she really was like a little girl in so many ways. He waved to her, "Come on, we have to get to the bakery before they're sold out." She followed him, still wide awake and wary of another attack.

"Bakery?"

* * *

It was the single largest pile of donuts Milly had ever seen. She doubted she'd see one bigger in her lifetime from the way that Vash staggered under the tray he was carrying over to the table. His face was lost behind it, and his voice was muffled by the pastries, "I love breakfast!"

Milly giggled as he put down the tray in front of him, "I think you may have bought out the entire bakery," she said glancing behind him to the counter. Sure enough, the display case was wiped free from any traces of powdered sugar and the bakers were scrambling to make new batches for the customers coming in the door. It probably took the entire night to make the pile they had in front of them and Vash was already on his third donut as she reached for her first. It was custard filled and she bit into it with relish. "Thanks for taking me to breakfast," she said after a moment, trying to hold the smile on her face that Vash wanted her to have, although it felt a bit forced.

Vash acted as if he didn't notice as he put another donut to his lips, this one covered in chocolate frosting, "You're very welcome Milly. It's been a long time since I've had any company on one of these binges." He grinned and held up a donut, "A toast."

Smiling, Milly held up her donut in return, "What are we toasting?"

"To a new day," Vash said in good spirits, "And many more to come!"

They bumped donuts and Vash fell silent as he continued to scarf down the assorted pastries. Milly ate slowly, picking out her favorite types and sticking her finger into the custards and creams and licking them off her fingers. She glanced over her shoulder out the window, thinking about Meryl. She was undoubtedly still up in the hotel room writing angrily about how she had betrayed her to go out and have fun with Vash the Stampede, and probably feeling miserable. Milly sighed, glancing at the donuts, at Vash's happily closed eyes, his powdered nose and his chocolate covered fingers. She felt so guilty now and her stomach was starting to ache from the fourth donut she'd managed to eat.

Milly sat back in her chair and Vash opened his eyes, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she replied. "I'm just full, that's all. Four donut limit." Milly smiled and patted her tummy… Then raised her hand to her mouth, _maybe I should have made that a three donut limit…_ She managed to swallow and stood up, "I need to get something to drink."

Vash nodded and she went up to the counter to buy a couple of bottles of milk. After handing over the money, she turned back to the table and the donuts were gone. _All_ of them were gone. Milly's mouth dropped open and she rushed back, "Oh my goodness…"

With a goofy smile on his face, Vash burped. "Oh, excuse me," he said his eyes rolling around in his head. "Sorry… They were just so good!" He licked his lips and Milly handed him one of the bottles. "Ah, this is perfect." He took a swig of the milk and set it down onto the table with a tink. Milly took a sip of hers, watching in utter amazement. He'd eaten that entire tray of donuts… In only a matter of minutes.

"Are you okay, Vash?"

The gunman nodded and looked up at her. He took a napkin from the dispenser on the table, and by the time he had finished wiping his fingers and mouth, he looked completely normal. Milly just stood there holding her milk bottle. She'd seen her brothers eat pies and hotdogs in contests before, but they always came away with stomachaches and many times they ran to the bathroom a few moments later. But not so Mr. Vash. "You must have a fast metabolism," she said after a moment, finally sitting back down in her chair.

"I have a hollow arm," he said with a grin. Milly giggled and nodded, although, when Vash looked at her again she had a strange feeling that he was telling the complete truth. Was it possible that the gunman really _did_ have a hollow arm?

"Which one?"

"The left," he said with a grin. She shook her head and looked at him for a moment. He really was a mystery sometimes. She finished off her milk and watched Vash do the same with his before reaching for another napkin. "You have something on your face," Vash said suddenly, extending the napkin to her.

"I do?" Milly looked down her nose, and Vash chuckled. She looked so sweet like that, as if she could see something on her own face. Milly started to take the napkin from his hand but he moved it away out of her reach. "Where is it? Let me get it…"

Vash smiled, "I'll get it," he leaned forward and a blush rose on Milly's cheeks. Vash liked the reaction as he gently ran the napkin over her pink lips. She held very still, looking down at his hand with crossed eyes. After a moment he sat back down in his seat and put the used napkin onto the empty donut tray. "There, all better."

"T-thanks," Milly said with a swallow. When had the restaurant gotten so stuffy? She stood up and nodded to the door, "Can we go now? I need fresh air or my donuts aren't going to settle properly." In fact she could already feel that fourth donut threatening to come out the hard way. Vash followed suit and they left the bakery, out into the cool spring air.

When they hit the sidewalk Vash said, "So, are you ready for the next surprise?"

Milly shrugged, it wasn't as if she had anything better to do, although she had _work_ but that wasn't exactly better, it was just supposed to be necessary, but Meryl _did_ say that she would do it for her. She didn't want to feel guilty about anything, wasn't that what it was to be spontaneous? Meryl hated spontaneity and had to plan everything out ahead of time, Milly thought it was a bit dull really, but there wasn't much else she could do.

Vash watched her stand there thinking, wondering if he should wave his hand in front of her nose. Milly had these moments where she just stood staring out into space. When he first met her, he thought it was because she was a little slow, and really there wasn't too much to prove she _wasn't_, except for the fact that when she got to talking, _really_ talking, he realized that she was a lot smarter than she let on. He had a feeling that when most people thought she was spacing out she was really lost in some deep thought or another, and Vash hoped she wasn't thinking of a way to break off their fun.

It worried him to see her with the false smiles this morning when the day before she had seemed to enjoy herself so much. He noticed that she still wore the necklace he bought her, and had even been wearing it when she ran past him to get dressed that morning. _She must have worn it to bed,_ he thought with a smile. It _had_ to be true that she liked him, that it wasn't a game, but Milly was a devoted and loyal friend to Meryl and it was probably tearing her up inside.

Wondering about whether he was right or not, he did finally wave the hand in front of her face and Milly blinked. She smiled, "Sorry…"

"C-cent for your thoughts," he said, digging in his pocket to produce a coin. "Let me guess…" He held the coin to his forehead and said, "You're thinking that you're worried about Meryl… Am I right?"

Milly's mouth dropped open, "How did you know? Can you read minds?"

Vash laughed and reached for her hand, and after depositing the coin in her palm, folded her fingers around it. "No, but I could read it on your face." He wrapped his arm around hers and started them into motion down the street. In the middle of the city lay a sheer rock face, and it was there the boys told him he should take Milly to see something only a select few in the town knew about. He glanced at Milly out of the corner of his eye, "Don't have second thoughts on me… Yesterday you…"

"No! Oh no!" Milly shook her head but she didn't look at him. "It's just… Oh, don't worry about it. I've just…" She kept trailing off, but Vash kept silent hoping she would finish her train of thought. "I've just, you know, never had a boyfriend before, and even though this is kind of temporary and all, I just don't know if what I'm doing is right because all of my sisters, the first guy they dated they married… Courtship and all. And I know there's no way we'd… I mean…" She blushed Milly stopped walking, "You really don't want to go that far right?"

Vash looked down into her eyes, concern crossing his features. No wonder she was so thoughtful now a day later, of course she'd be thinking of the future, what young woman didn't? But the truth was he knew he _couldn't_ marry her or bring her happiness like that… He was immortal and even though the big girl didn't know it, he was well over a hundred years old and incapable of… He couldn't have children… His anatomy was built the same way as human males but he was sterile like a mule, at least that's what the Doc told him; although Vash wasn't quite sure _what_ a mule was. Mostly it was his appearance that kept him from going very far with a woman. But back to Milly's question, "No… Not right now anyway," he said slowly and awkwardly, "I figured we'd just take this slowly and figure it out as we went."

"That's just fine," Milly said, her face falling slightly, and Vash wondered if he'd said the wrong thing. It was just so hard to tell… Most of the women he'd happened to get close to in the past were amorous and eager for one night stands, but he always had the tendency to "fall asleep" before they got very far. He was always afraid they'd see his scars and be turned off right then and there. It was painful enough to have to cut the night short anyway. They would leave and he'd start the chase all over again. He had never had any relationship of any sort last for more than a day, so hanging out with Milly like this was a whole new experience for him. She was raised in a family where undoubtedly there were only just so many girls and guys and they paired up in school and were married as soon as they were old enough. Milly was probably not lucky enough to have someone in town her age of the opposite sex, and when no suitors arrived she just gave up and her parents decided to send her out to find someone. She just happened to run into him and he'd taken her up on her offer.

"I'm sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear," Vash said. "I guess I'm not very good at this kind of thing yet."

Milly lifted her head, "You aren't?"

He shrugged, "I'm afraid no one has ever stuck around for more than a day… I think part of it has something to do with my name," he added, knowing he didn't want to admit his personal flaws, even though if they went out long enough there would be need to eventually.

"Well, if they knew Vash the Stampede like _I_ know him, they wouldn't!" She smiled, and for the first time that day Milly wasn't putting on the fake smile. It lifted his spirits to see her willing and able to cheer him up. He smiled in return.

"All right then!" He pointed down the lane they were walking, and at the end a stone stairway lead into the mountain. "Let's get a move on! I have something to show you!" He pulled her on and Milly eagerly followed.


	7. Day Two The Bounty Hunters

"I met up with a group of bounty hunters on my way out of town," Wolfwood said to Meryl as they left the hotel after finishing their coffee. It had taken them a few hours to come up with the plan they would use to get Vash and Milly apart. Meryl was a stickler for organization, Wolfwood found out as she put it all on paper and had everything planned down to the minute. Now that they'd spent the morning talking, he was ready to get to business and finally the little girl was willing as well. "The reason that I didn't leave was I wanted to tell Needle Noggin about them."

Meryl nodded, "Where were they?"

"On the outskirts of town," he was carrying his cross on one shoulder and Meryl eyed it wearily. She really hoped they wouldn't need an artillery with them to visit these bounty hunters. It bothered her they would have to rely on outside help, especially knowing how the last Vash the Stampede hunt turned out. She still had nightmares about the Nebraska family.

"Do you think we can convince them not to destroy the town as they go after him?"

Wolfwood looked down at her through his dark sunglasses, "What do you mean?"

"I mentioned what happened with the Nebraska…"

He laughed, "Ah! See, those were just regular folk going after him, not trained bounty hunters. This is completely different." He patted his cross, "Believe me, I've had plenty of experience with these types to know what I'm talking about."

Meryl felt a lump in her throat as she thought about the strange priest. First he was just a guy collecting money for an orphanage, then he started acting like the womanizing Vash, and now she found out that he had a huge gun and was a _very_ experienced gunman. What else wasn't he telling her? Who was this guy anyway? "That's what I'm afraid of. Really, I'm thinking that what I said to Milly will sink in and she'll give up on Vash in a few days."

Wolfwood shook his head, and pulled his sunglasses down his nose to look at her. His gray eyes were dark pools. "You're misjudging the effects that a handsome man has on a simple woman like the big girl."

"I'm fully aware…"

"Really?" He stopped walking and set his cross onto the ground. Meryl stopped and he put his sunglasses into his front pocket and set a hand on her shoulder. She shivered under his touch, "Can you honestly tell me that you know what's going on in her mind when Needle Noggin looks at her?"

"Sure…" Meryl trailed off as Nicholas lowered his head to look into her eyes, "Don't look at me like that…" He was fairly handsome, although the tall dark types weren't really up her alley. Meryl preferred someone a bit… She bit her lip because he was still looking at her with 'bedroom eyes' and it was starting to become very stuffy all of a sudden. Meryl stepped away from him and Wolfwood chuckled.

"Fine, I'll do it your way if you like, but I can guarantee you that if we do it my way, no one is going to get hurt."

"And how can you?"

Wolfwood slipped his sunglasses back on and shouldered his cross. "I know where Needle Noggin took the big girl this morning. There's an old mine in the center of town that was abandoned a few months ago when they found natural rock formations in there. It's quite breathtaking I'm told. However, only a few people know about it and a couple of the families have been fighting over who has rights to the possible tourism that it might bring in. Right now only the children in town go in and out of there. Since the kiddies are in school right now it will be completely empty but for your friend and the stampede."

Meryl had to admit he was thorough in his planning, even if she still didn't like the idea of siccing bounty hunters on Vash again, it was the only plausible plan they had come up with. "Okay, but if anything happens to Milly I'm putting it on _your_ shoulders, you get that?"

The priest nodded, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

_I wish someone would read this story… Thanks to Sunsilver and Themis56 for your reviews – you guys are the best! I know this story is a bit different but hang on with me everyone – it's really fun!_


	8. Day Two Little Ones

According to Neil, the old mine split into two caves, one to the north, and the other to the east. The north tunnel, although for the time emptied of miners, was a mineral depository. A few months back they had started digging the second tunnel and ran into ancient rock formations, proving that at one point in time in the history of Gunsmoke there were lakes and oceans. From a scientific standpoint that meant the water had to be _somewhere_ on the planet because it couldn't just disappear, could it? The miners and the historians in town argued to the point where the mayor simply closed the mine until the dispute was ended.

The only sounds within the cave this morning were footsteps of children already playing in the caves, water from some hidden underground river, and the occasional soft tinkle of rocks falling from the ceiling. Vash glanced over his shoulder at Milly. Her eyes were wide open in amazement, she cast about looking at the carved walls, the girders, the electric lights that lined the pathway, and would stoop from time to time to pick up some discarded pebble or another. She didn't look depressed anymore, and he smiled softly, knowing that if she had remained pensive he would have ended their day with goodbyes, but he was rather glad he didn't have to.

When they reached the fork in the path, Vash turned to Milly and she stopped walking. Two children ran by out from the east tunnel, "Hey Vash! Hi Vash! Hi Lady!"

"Hi guys!" The gunman waved as they disappeared back into the sunshine. He lowered his hand and reached into his pocket. "Okay Milly, this is where the fun starts." Pulling a handkerchief from his pocket, he lifted it to her eyes, "I'm going to blindfold you now."

"But…" Milly looked a bit disappointed, "I've been having fun just looking at everything!"

Vash chuckled, "I promise it will only be for a few minutes and then you'll be able to see everything on the way back, how's that?" He waited for her to nod slowly and put the cloth up to her eyes, tied it behind her head and waited for her to adjust it more comfortably on her face. "How's that? You can't see anything can you?" He waved a hand in front of her face.

"It's all dark," she said after a minute and put her hand out, "Lead away!"

"Okay!" Vash took her hand in his own and pulled her close to him, she startled, bumped into him and then managed to steady herself. "Keep near me, the tunnel gets pretty narrow up ahead." Immediately she pressed up against him and Vash felt himself flush involuntarily. It was an unexpected reaction on his part because normally girls didn't have this effect on him. He squeezed her hand and started walking, carefully watching the path in front of Milly's feet, her head, her sides, making sure she wouldn't bump into anything or trip over anything. It wasn't hard keeping a watch like this, kind of like driving a car, only a lot slower, and when the tunnel began to narrow he pushed her ahead of him and put his hands on her shoulders. From time to time they had to duck under low hanging rocks and ever so often they heard giggling up ahead and the sound of water grew louder.

After about ten minutes they came out into the cave and Vash let go of Milly. She waved her hands around searching for him, "Vash?"

"I'm here, just stand where you are for a second." He walked around in front of her, and looked at her face, her sweet pink lips pursed with anticipation. Vash swallowed, he leaned forward, thinking about kissing her again. She didn't pucker up and didn't move away so he knew she really couldn't see him. But it didn't seem like the right moment for it and he lifted his hands to her blindfold instead and said, "Are you ready?"

"Yup!" Milly could feel her heart pounding in her chest as he took off the blindfold and stepped to her side. Her eyes widened and she looked out in front of her at the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. The cave was full of teeth, some hanging from the ceiling, some coming up from the ground, small and large, spreading on the length of the cave until there was a drop off. She stepped forward, looking at everything, unable to speak, there were little alcoves and shimmering rocks, farther on she could see water, actual running water, and Milly turned to look back at Vash. "This is beautiful!"

Vash smiled brightly, "I thought you might like it."

"I love it!" She clapped her hands together and walked over to the little stream that ran along the back of the cave and disappeared out of sight under a wall. "Wow, I've read about things like this, but look at everything!" Milly squatted down and dipped her fingers in the cold water. "It's so cold!"

Stepping up to stand behind her, Vash was still smiling, his eyes catching glimpses of giggling children playing hide and seek behind the stone formations. He remembered reading about these things himself, they were called stalagmites and stalactites, and back on Earth they kept them well guarded from human hands because of how fragile they were. On this planet they had no such guards because to the miners the only real use they had in this cave was the running water. The children were taking little stone teeth and pebbles and calling out to one another about their finds. It was like a treasure cave, a magical place to play, and Vash was glad he got to come here himself.

Milly plopped down on the ground, taking her shoes off, and she glanced up at him, "I'm going to put my toes in!" She was grinning as Vash sat down next to her. "I love mines but I've never seen one like this before. My big little brother worked in the coal mines to the south, and my cousins work in the silver mine, and they've taken me from time to time. It's so peaceful in a cave, it's as if you're closer to God since we're inside one of his creations." Milly had her shoes off now and pulled her socks off before rolling up her pants and sticking her feet into the water. "Cold!"

Vash laughed, "Yeah, it is." He considered taking his own boots off but decided not to, opting instead just to watch Milly enjoying herself as she looked into the deep water. "Hey! What's that?" He pointed at something in the water, and Milly put her hands in her armpits and glared at him. Vash laughed, "No! I'm not trying to fool you this time. There was a flash of silver a second ago… There it is again!"

Leaning forward, Milly unfolded her hands and looking into the water she spotted what he was pointing at. "Fish!"

"Fish?" Vash frowned, "But they don't have eyes."

Milly turned her blue eyes on him, "Cave fish are blind, didn't you know that?"

"Guess I missed that class," Vash grinned. He put a hand to his head and laughed. "This planet sure has a lot of hidden secrets in it!"

"Sure does!" Milly scooped her hand into the water and the fish swam away. She lifted her hand to her lips, managing to drench herself as she sipped the cold liquid. "It tastes good too."

Vash followed suit and agreed with her. "It's a pity the whole planet doesn't have water like this."

Milly nodded, "Yeah." She wiped her hands off on her pants and sat looking into the running water for a long time, trying to imagine what it would be like to have river outside, where trees and flowers could grow beside it. Closing her eyes, she tried to picture it, imagining her family farm and adding this little stream with the sparkling fish, the sun shining down, kids giggling like they were now as they ran by. When she opened her eyes a little girl and boy were sitting on her left side, peering up at her. "Why, hello."

"Hello lady," they said in return. The little girl splashed in the water and laughed. "I hope we get to play here forever."

"Yeah, me too," the boy joined in. Then they both stood up again and ran off into the rocks. Milly smiled after them, her heart felt so light and even though the sunlight and trees from her imagination faded, she could still feel the warmth.

She turned to look at Vash, and his eyes had closed as well, he leaned back, his nose facing the tall ceiling above. Milly wondered what he could be thinking about. Such a soft hearted man to be labeled with so many nicknames and crimes. How could anyone even think that he did any of the things that he was wanted for? The gunman was talented, there was no doubt about that, but he was good enough not to make mistakes that could kill someone, well, except for that Bad Lad on the sand steamer. Milly was glad he hadn't harmed anyone after that, and had helped the man by taking care of his wound, even when he had his own wound to deal with.

_That reminds me,_ she thought to herself, her eyes shifting from Vash's face down his torso to his side. The gun holes were all sewn up now and the ketchup stains were gone, not that you could see them very well on the red coat anyway, but she wondered how his wound was healing. If she remembered correctly, when her oldest brother got shot on accident during a sand worm hunting competition, his wound took at least a month to heal. But Mr. Vash only once complained about his wound after he was shot, and that was only about two weeks ago when she and Meryl dropped the ceiling of the ancient ship on him and the priest. Milly bit her lip. Was he really okay? He never acted hurt. She shook her head. _Best not to pry, guys have easily bruised egos and if he's hurting then he would have complained if he wanted the attention. My big, big brother whined that entire month until the wound was healed, such a big baby._

Vash opened one eye and glanced at her, "What are you looking at?"

Milly spooked, turned away and blushed, "Oh nothing."

"You're wondering about my gunshot aren't you?"

"No…" Milly stopped, "You really _can_ read minds can't you?"

He smiled mysteriously, "Maybe."

She really wasn't sure whether to take him seriously or not because he laughed and tilted his head down again to look at her. "Well, since you bring it up, yes, I was wondering if you were healing okay."

"I'm fine," he said, putting his hand to his side. "I'm a fast healer and I've been shot more times than I can count so I'm used to it." He tilted his head to the side, "Thanks for worrying about me."

"Oh," Milly smiled, "You're welcome." She wasn't quite sure what to make of what he said about being shot, because the only people she knew who were shot more than once died… It made her heart hurt to think about it, wondering what it would be like if Vash really were to get killed while she and Meryl kept an eye on him. A lot of people would be happy but she felt like she wouldn't be able to work for a very long time if it happened, because he was her friend now. Well, perhaps at the moment, _more_ than a friend… Especially from the way he was looking at her now, a soft expression as he leaned toward her, looking very much like he was going to kiss her again.

Milly realized she wouldn't mind being kissed again and started to close her eyes when an explosion rocked the cave. Vash startled, swearing under his breath and clambered to his feet. The children were screaming and Milly struggled to get her shoes on again, forgoing the socks which she shoved in her pockets. "Vash, what happened?"

"This isn't good, someone's blasting in the other tunnel." He waved at the children, "Kids, we've got to get out of here!"

_More reviews! Thank you everyone who is reading this little story! I'm having a blast… Heh heh, get it? Blast? (Okay, that was bad…) For those of you who like Meryl and Nicholas hanging out together, stay tuned for the next chapter. They're just so fun to write together, I can just see them getting into a lot of trouble! And thank you to my beta-readers (Susan and Catherine) I'm too lazy to change the previous chapter's mistakes, but from now on they should be fairly error free!_


	9. Day Two Hard Luck Gang

Day Two - Hard Luck Gang

"You didn't say anything about them using explosives!" Meryl screamed, her hands to her head, her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach where she was sure it wouldn't easily be retrieved. "I knew it! I **knew_ it!_ **This was a bad idea from the very beginning!" She turned her anger on the priest, grabbed him by his lapels and found she couldn't shake him nearly as easily as the mayor from Enepril, but she was giving it her gosh darned best try! "You idiot!"

Wolfwood put a hand on her head and turned his gaze from the cave entrance that was now billowing with smoke and dust. "They were just cutting off the other route for escape. It's perfectly safe, they're trained professionals."

"Trained professionals my…" Meryl turned, people were pouring out of neighboring buildings now and she loosed her grip on the priest's coat. "If anyone gets hurt…"

"I said they won't!" Wolfwood took a step forward and dislodged the little girl from him. He was half-concerned with the amount of dynamite that was used, it was a bit too much for the type of explosion they needed. Trying not to show that there was anything wrong with his plan, because, as far as he was concerned, there wasn't outside of this little hitch, he wrapped his arm around Meryl's shoulder. The little girl tensed.

"What are you doing?"

"Comforting you…" Nicholas glanced down at her, pulling his sunglasses off his face, folding them with his free right hand and putting them away. "Don't forget, we didn't have anything to do with this…"

Meryl's eyes narrowed, and she tried to put a shocked expression on her face, as if she were as surprised by the explosion as the other villagers, which wasn't hard to do. Especially with the priest's strong arm around her shoulder, his fingers digging deeply into her arm as if to remind her to keep acting. When Milly and Vash came out, she couldn't let on that she had anything to do with it. Although, at the moment, she was starting to think she'd rather take the blame than stand there with that creepy priest holding onto her.

From within the cave, there were voices and yelling, the sound of… children! Meryl wrenched away from Wolfwood and shaded her eyes from the smoke to see figures, small shadows coming from the cave… "You idiot! There _were_ kids in there!" She rushed forward, a little boy and girl ran from the opening, coughing. "Are you okay? Are there others in there? What happened?"

The little boy choked out, "M-Mr. Vash… And the lady! And Hattie, Saddy and Josh… Still in the cave! I'm scared!" He clung to Meryl and the little girl was sobbing on her knees. Meryl nearly dragged out her derringers and turned on the priest, but she waited, her teeth clenched. People were pouring from the buildings now and the parents of the two small children were rushing up to them.

"Why weren't you in school?" Meryl managed before they were retrieved to safety.

"Spring break," the boy said before calling to his mother and disappearing into the crowd. Meryl felt a sadistic grin come to her face as she swung on Wolfwood. The priest held up his hands, backing step by step away from her.

"Now hold on little girl… I didn't know they were on vacation…"

Meryl forced an angered scream from her lips, the only thing she could muster at the moment to stop her from strangling the life out of the mangy man in front of her. People were staring at her in curiosity, but maybe figuring that they were having a lover's quarrel. "No more plans from you, MISTER! As soon as…" Her words trailed off as someone was shouting for their children within. There were more shadows coming from the slowly diminishing smoke within the cave. Two of the bounty hunters stepped out into the light coughing, waving hands in front of their eyes.

"Slight miscalculation," one was mumbling, and it was Wolfwood's turn to grow angry, he ran up to them, and with one swift swing of his cross, knocked them both to the ground, completely unconscious.

"Here's your men, sheriff!" He yelled as the first of the authorities arrived. Nicholas was mighty proud of himself for covering up his tracks so easily, these bounty hunters were also wanted men, so at least he wouldn't go hungry for the rest of the trip and would probably have enough money to buy a motorcycle out of this crazy place. Although, he had to admit he was having fun under the circumstances, life traveling in the desert was mighty boring until he joined Vash and the insurance girls. But he was almost as eager to get away from them… At least the little one, she was scary.

"Were there others in there?" The deputy asked, his eyes worried, glancing from the knocked out bounty hunters to the cave entrance. He frowned, "These guys are from the Hard Luck Gang, there's always four of them…" He pulled out a notepad as the sheriff started toward the cave. "Sheriff, Zan and Yast are probably in there still. Poor guys, they can't pull off any heist right…"

The sheriff had his hand on his gun hilt, but he didn't make to pull it, "What in the world could they want inside of there? Nothing but rocks…" He shook his head, "See if you can get those two awake again, we need to know what they were doing in there." Suddenly, there was another explosion, the sheriff threw himself backwards to avoid a pile of debris that came out of the cave's mouth. "Damn! Don't tell me they're still blasting!"

"That was a cave in," Nicholas yelled, his eyes wide as he tried to keep the insurance girl from taking him apart bit by bit. "Calm down," he murmured to her and she settled, although her feathers were still ruffled. "We're going to need shovels to clear it…" Sure enough, as the smoke cleared, the entrance to the cave was nearly blocked off but for a small opening at the top. Wolfwood had a feeling he wasn't going to see the end of this… He started over to the deputy, "These guys were wanted right…"

_Thanks to everyone again for reading! I really appreciate all of your feedback!_


	10. Day Two Finding Daylight

Day Two – Finding Daylight 

Milly coughed, feeling the dust and dirt in her mouth, nose and eyes. She blinked, trying to find her way, but the cave was completely dark now. Her head hurt too, a rock had hit it during the second explosion but she ignored it, fear seeping into her bones in the darkness. The electric lights snapped off with a loss of power. She felt two children clinging to her pants and she managed to put her fingers around the collars of their shirts to keep them next to her. But where was Vash? Where were the others? There was at least one more child in this cave and what was going on anyway? Why was anyone blasting in the cave? Coughing, she tried to clear her throat and settle the growing panic from the absolute darkness that surrounded her. "Vash? Are you there?"

The children were starting to panic, one of them was crying, the other clutching so tightly at her leg she felt his fingers digging into her skin. But the pain wasn't a match for the fear that came from getting no response from the gunman. "Vash!"

"I'm here," came a response slowly. Milly sighed with relief, holding the children tightly to her. "Are you okay, Milly? Are the children okay?"

"Yes, I think so… I think I bumped my head… The children seem to be all right. I only have two of them though, there was a third somewhere."

"I have him," Vash said, his voice was closer now, and Milly could hear his footsteps as well. There was a sound of crunching pebbles, it came up to her side, and a hand touched her shoulder. She didn't have time to wonder how Vash managed to find her in the complete darkness, but she was so very glad he did. "Here, I need you to take him, I think he got hit with a falling stone." Milly moved her hands off of the children clinging to her and awkwardly retrieved the little one from Vash's arms.

Satisfied she had all of the children, Milly said, "What are we going to do?"

There was a click and a little light sputtered to life on her left. Vash's face came into view. He held his little lighter up between them. It cast such a small amount of light, it was almost worse than being in the darkness, like the black would overtake them at any moment. "We're going to get out of here," he said slowly. Vash squatted down beside one of the children clinging to Milly's legs, "I need you two to form a chain between me and Milly, can you do that?"

Nodding slowly, the little boy detached a hand and clung to Vash instead, his hand extended to the little girl who kept a hand on Milly. Now they were connected. "Don't let go of anyone," Vash said sternly. He stood up straight again and flicked the lighter closed. The little girl whimpered, but Milly felt her little hand still clutching tightly to her pant leg. "We're going to move in a straight line, follow me, I'll go slow so if anyone feels someone trip or let loose just stop and I'll turn on the light again. But I want to save it in case we may need it later."

A tug at Milly's leg told her they were moving already and she walked forward, step by slow agonizing step. The darkness was incredible. She had gone into caves before and her brothers had turned off their lights to frighten her, but it was only for a few seconds. Never before had she realized how much humans relied on light. Milly wondered how the little blind fish managed, or how people who lost their sight lived without being afraid they'd make a wrong step somewhere.

Vash glanced back, the others seemed to be doing fine, they were walking forward steadily now as he walked through his memory of the cave. Some would think he could see in the dark, but that wasn't necessarily true, he could form a picture memory, coupled with the sounds of breathing, footsteps and the scents of those around him, he knew where everything was in the cave. It would take a long time to travel like this, but it was the safest way. He was worried however, why was anyone using explosives when the caves were closed off? What overzealous miner had come in when there were obviously children within the cave? The second explosion was a cave in, he already knew that their way might be blocked off, but he made no mention of it to the others. No need to worry them.

"Everyone okay back there?" He said as he found the narrow opening to the miner's shaft. "We're going to be going through the skinny tunnel now." The children murmured that they were okay and Milly breathed a sigh as they scooted forward like a little parade through the narrow passageway.

The walk in was much faster than the walk out, and Milly realized that it wasn't unlike being blindfolded. She even closed her eyes, trying to imagine Vash leading her on like he had before. After awhile they managed a nice clip until suddenly Milly's knee bumped the little girl, knocking her over and she fell to her knees with the little one in her arms. "Ouch!"

Vash turned, "You okay Milly?"

"Yeah… I scraped my knee but… Why did you stop?"

"I hear voices."

Milly held her breath, listening, but all she could hear were the fast breaths of the little ones and the scuffling of their feet. She managed to pull herself up and Vash said, "Grab onto Milly again, I'll be right back." There was another hand that clutched Milly's pant leg and footsteps retreating down the small passageway. Milly bit her lip, unable to see anything, trying to comfort herself as much as the little ones, she wasn't quite sure she was doing a good job. And now Vash was gone and they were completely alone.

"Where did Mr. Vash go?" The little girl asked.

"I'm not quite sure, but everything will be fine. Maybe your parents have come looking for you and they'll have lights…" She trailed off as a gunshot echoed off the cave walls. She fell to her knees again, laying the unconscious child in her lap and moving her hands around the two others. "It'll be all right…" They were whimpering and she was trying her darndest not to as well. If only she had thought to bring her stun gun! She shivered, or even her coat… The damp darkness was starting to eat through her pants into her knees.

Footsteps again and a light flickered to life in front of them. "We've got a problem," Vash said. He was followed by two men with flashlights, they held rifles in front of them. Vash slowly turned, his hands up in front of him.

"Well lookee here, we've got company, Zan."

"Seems we do, Yast." The two men cackled between each other. "I don't think they've got any bounties on them though."

Vash grimaced. More bounty hunters. Would the line of them never end? If only he could prove to the government that he hadn't caused Lost July… Or the death of Revenant Vasquez… No luck there and here were two overzealous hunters seeing double dollars… "Let them go and I won't fight."

Yast and Zan looked at one another. Zan turned, shrugged, "Sounds good, only one problem, cave's collapsed. There's a tiny hole out… That's it… Unless we blast again," he grinned, holding a stick of dynamite. Vash didn't lower his hands although if the children and Milly hadn't been there he would have easily tackled both men to the ground and gotten them out of there within a matter of minutes. The only problem was, they were just too unstable and in the darkness he didn't want to risk the lives of the innocents.

"If it's a small hole," Milly said slowly, "Then maybe the kids can get out?" She was hopeful and the two bounty hunters looked at each other again, Yast scratched his head with his flashlight and then they nodded.

"Okay, sounds fair," Zan waved his flashlight, "Girl, you and the kids in front. Yast, you behind them, the Stampede in the middle and I'll follow up to make sure you don't do anything funny." Milly got to her feet and with the girl and boy still clutching to her legs, she started forward, glad for the little light from the flashlights. The walk seemed almost longer though; knowing one of the rifles was only inches from her back.

Vash saw Milly tense as Yast's gun touched her, pushing her to walk faster. He wanted to slug him for worrying her… And as soon as she and the children were safe he decided he would. It didn't take them very long to see, however, that the bounty hunters were right, the hole was tiny. Only one little shaft of light marked the entrance to the cave. They stopped at the incline and could hear people on the other side, already digging to open up the hole. "All right," Zan said, coming around the group and dragging the little girl from Milly. "Get up there."

The little girl squirmed, broke free and dashed up the little hill, struggled at the hole and after a moment there were people on the other side shouting, sounds of shovels, and suddenly she disappeared. The boy was next, he ran up and managed to get out faster, "Hey! Is everyone all right in there!"

"We're okay!" Milly shouted back, looking down at the little one in her arms, "Only this one bumped his head!" She turned and looked at the bounty hunters to make sure she could walk up the little hill to put the last child through and they didn't make a move to hurt her. Milly managed to hand the last one through. There were voices on the other side, saying they would open up the hole very shortly, and to wait just a little while longer. No one asked for any other children, and Milly was glad, she was almost worried there had been more in the cave missing…

"Come back here," Yast said suddenly, he yanked Milly back down the hill and she fell on her face in the dirt. "We need you for leverage so he doesn't clobber us the moment you're out of the way…"

Vash would have sworn out loud, but he kept his hands up in front of him and plastered an innocent look on his face. These guys had brains after all. Yast's gun was pointed at Milly as they waited patiently for the hole to open and faces of adults started appearing. The first man who aimed a flashlight into the cave swore and backed away, "They've got guns in there!"

"That's right!" Zan yelled. "Don't do anything funny, I'm coming out with our hostages!" Taking a hold of Milly's hair, he yanked her forward. Zan backed out of the hole with his rifle in front of him, her hair in one hand, that barrel just too close for comfort. She swallowed… If only Vash would do something! But maybe everything would be okay, right? Milly had seen Vash get out of worse situations and even though she had never been a part of it, she had faith he'd keep her safe too… And where was Meryl? She hoped her senpai would be there somewhere, it would make her feel so much better.

Out into the sunshine, Zan grabbed Milly around the waist, the rifle to her head. "Don't anyone do anything funny! All right Yast, bring him out!" Milly could only listen as more scrambling was heard as she assumed Vash was coming out of the hole followed by the other bounty hunter. Her eyes scanned the crowd watching, and her heart leapt with joy, there was Meryl! Thank goodness! Meryl was fuming and the target for that anger seemed to be Mr. Priest who was standing near her, smoking a cigarette and watching curiously.

"Okay Zan, I got 'em!" Yast pushed Vash up into Milly's view now and she glanced over to him. He was silent, hands up in the air again, following obediently. Yast was looking around, "Where's big brother and cousin Moe?"

The sheriff stepped out of the crowd, "We've got them. Don't do anything stupid, fellas. Let the lady go."

Milly felt the gun barrel press harder into her temple. She swallowed. Zan shook his head, "Not until we get our bounty for Vash the Stampede."

"A wanted man can't turn in a wanted man, Zan," the deputy murmured, looking up from his notepad. "Let her go now and we'll reduce the sentence you're going to get for destroying private property, trespassing and taking two people hostage."

"But this is Vash the Stampede!" Yast screeched, suddenly realizing that their plan was going down the tubes very quickly. "He's a wanted man, a criminal even bigger than we are!" He cocked the trigger on his rifle, "Dead or alive!"

Milly swallowed and three things happened very suddenly. Vash was a blur as he raised his hand sending the rifle flying, Zan let her go, and Mr. Wolfwood dashed into the fray. Vash bent backwards as the priest sent his cross flying into a semi circle that knocked out Yast, came flying toward Zan, and Milly fell to her knees to avoid being clobbered by the heavy gun as well. Both bounty hunters were out like lights in a matter of seconds and Vash put one hand backwards in his arch and pushed himself back straight. Milly just sat on her knees blinking as Meryl ran up to her to see how she was. "Your head is covered in blood!" Her friend said, but Milly hardly heard it.

Her mouth dropped open as Meryl hugged her and then she smiled faintly, "I need a nap…" she said as she gracelessly passed out.


	11. Day Three Cleaning Up

Day Three – Cleaning Up 

Click. Clickity click. Click. The tapping of the keys on Meryl's typewriter were a soothing sound as Milly yawned. She smiled to herself, what a strange dream that was. In fact, she'd been having a lot of strange dreams lately. Mr. Vash dating her and kissing her and all of that mess with the bounty hunters in the cave and the little blind fish… All just a crazy dream she was trying to decide in waking whether she wanted to remember it or not when she got out of bed. She rolled over under her sheets, feeling the warm blankets and cool pillows, the suns shining in from the windows marking it morning already.

Milly stretched, opened her eyes, wiping the grit from them and scratched her head, it throbbed and her hair felt like it was caked in mud. She needed to get cleaned up. With another yawn she rolled out of bed and padded from her room through the main living area. The clicking had stopped and Milly thought briefly that Meryl must have stepped out for a minute, maybe to go get more coffee from the shop around the corner. She didn't even stop as she went into the bathroom, shucked off her clothes and hopped into the shower. The water was so nice and warm… And even though her head throbbed for some reason, she realized she could stay there forever, just thinking about that weird dream she had. It was a good one, although strange and of course none of it could have really taken place. How crazy that was, especially Mr. Vash giving her that kiss… Hardly realistic, that's for sure! Milly smiled to herself, closing her eyes as the water washed away the grit and grime from her travels. She wondered if they would be taking off in the next day or two.

The sound of the bathroom door opening caused Milly to glance toward the opaque shower curtain. Meryl must have needed to use the potty, "Just don't flush, okay?" She said off-handedly, working the shampoo through her long hair now, letting it fall down her back with a wet slap. A sound of footsteps walked from one side of the bathroom to the other, the bathroom door closed and then there was a scrambling sound and a soft curse.

Milly frowned, "Meryl? Everything okay?"

"Can't get the door open…" It wasn't Meryl's voice.

Eyes wide, Milly realized that she was naked in a room with someone that was _not_ Meryl, with only a tiny thin shower curtain between them. She swallowed, "Uh… What's going on?"

"It's just me, Milly…"

Heart pounding, the voice registered in her head and it made things suddenly very much worse… It was Vash. "What in the world are you doing in my hotel room?" She squeaked.

"You're in mine…" Vash said sounding slightly amused. Milly couldn't even pay attention to finishing her shower… This was not good… This meant that what had happened had _not_ been a dream and here she was in Vash's hotel room and…

"What am I doing in _your_ room? And are you sure you're not in mine?"

Vash smiled on the other side of the curtain, although he was still cursing himself for forgetting that the bathroom door stuck. It was a lucky thing that the big girl hadn't closed the door all the way, and he was only going to jump in and get his toothbrush and jump out again… But a breeze knocked the door shut and they were stuck. At least until he could get the hinges unhooked like last time… But last time he wasn't in his pajamas holding only a toothbrush. He heard the water shut off and a timid eye peered around the curtain. "You're in mine, although our rooms look identical. I brought you back here after you passed out."

"Oh well… Why in the world did you do _that_?" Milly felt almost hysterical, her clothes were littered all over the floor, even her unmentionables… And Vash was right there and there wasn't even a towel she could reach! "Why am I not in Meryl's room!"

Vash's eyes went dark, "They hired the bounty hunters."

"Who did?"

"Meryl and Wolfwood," Vash said as he moved and sat down on the toilet. Milly followed him with his eyes, "I couldn't let them take you after they nearly got you killed. I'm sorry…" He saw their expressions as he came to see Milly, apparently the rock that hit her had been harder than she'd let on. When Milly passed out Meryl told him the whole rotten story and he'd simply picked up the big girl and taken her to the hospital. Then, against everyone's orders he took her to his own room to keep an eye on her. Meryl had argued with him the entire time but he was disgusted that she and the priest would do something so underhanded… He sighed. "It wasn't meant to happen like that. They apologized so I really don't begrudge them…"

Milly's eyes dropped, "I guess… I guess I understand. They were only doing what they thought best right?" She kinda did, although her mind was in such a fuddle, unable to decide whether she was dreaming or not. Her heart was pounding too hard in her chest to allow her to think straight. "I… So, why are you in here, anyway?"

Vash hitched a thumb at the door. "It sticks sometimes. I need something to pull up the hinges, but all I have is this." He lifted the toothbrush, "I'm afraid it would break… in fact, I _know_ it will," he moved his fingers from the handle to reveal that it was already broken in half. "Sorry, I didn't mean to get us stuck like this. You don't happen to have a nail file or anything do you?"

Shaking her head, Milly pushed back behind the shower curtain. She stood in thought for a minute, "The pins can't be that tight can they?"

"After I told the manager that I pulled the door off the hinges to get out he pounded them back in…" Vash sighed, "Finish your shower and I'll see what I can do." There was movement on the other side of the curtain and Milly turned the shower on again, hoping upon hopes that he wouldn't try sneaking a peak at her. She got the conditioner into her hair and washed it through and started soaping up her body when there was a sharp, _ching_ sound and what was left of Vash's toothbrush hit the ceiling and dropped in on her over the top of the stall. She jumped.

"Sorry! I knew that wouldn't work." All that was left of Vash's toothbrush was the head. Milly felt almost sorry for it as it sat in the bottom of the tub looking like a little caterpillar. She looked around, trying to think of what she might have had in her pockets from the day before.

"I think I have keys in my pants."

"Okay, I'll try that," Vash started fishing around in her things, trying not to look at her panties and bra, they were both a cute shade of pink with little dark red ribbons… He smiled. Normally girls he met wore black underwear or some strange animal print. Milly was so sweet… Vash shook his head quelling the thought. This was not the time to be thinking with his _other_ brain because he was just not willing to do anything like _that_ with Milly. Innocence was so fleeting when decades passed by like minutes… He found the keys and took the sturdiest of them, trying to pry the pin from the hinge.

There was another _ching_, and half of the key zipped into the bathtub, and Milly dashed around it. She turned the water off and looked at what remained to her apartment key. She picked it up and sighed, "The land lord is not going to be happy about this…"

"I'm not going to try any more," Vash said. "This is getting us no where. The maid should be in within an hour or two and when she can't open the door we can tell her to get help." He put the remaining keys on the vanity and went to sit on the toilet again.

Milly was shivering now, water dripping down her back. "Uh…"

"Yes?"

"Do you… Maybe… Could you… Hand me…"

Vash smiled, he took the towel from the rack and leaned over to hand it to her. "Here's a towel."

Blue eyes peeked around the curtain again, "Closer?"

Amused, Vash moved it only a half of an inch and Milly prompted for him to move it closer, but he didn't. The big girl was turning a fearsome red color as she finally reached out one hand to grab the towel. But Vash was too fast for her, he grabbed her wrist and she squealed. "Let me go!"

Ignoring her words of protest, he looked down at her arm. Covered in scars from her forearm to what he could see of her shoulder, he was thoroughly intrigued. His own nightclothes covered up the scars that covered his entire body, and suddenly he understood why the big girl wore shirts and pants rather than her companion's skirts. "You're scarred," he said ineloquently.

"So!" Milly squealed again and desperately tried to pull away from him. "Please Mr. Vash, let me go…"

Vash's smile faded with the formal title again and he let her go. Milly disappeared into the protection of the shower curtain and tried wrapping the towel around her midsection. It was too small! Why did hotels always have such tiny little towels anyway? They didn't cover up a gosh darn thing and they were scratchy and unpleasant and she wasn't going to dare ask the gunman for another one! He'd seen her scars and her heart started to beat painfully in her chest again. He wasn't supposed to see those… Now he'd want to drop her for good… Maybe it was for the best. Milly bit her lip, hoping she was getting the towel to cover the important bits. Although the scars went up her arm, over her shoulder and down part of her right side.

"Where did you get them?" Vash inquired. Milly shivered, her hair was dripping down her back into the towel.

"I… It's kind of a long story."

"We've got a few hours," Vash said. A twinkle in his eye and he smirked, "I could think of _other_ things we could be doing during that time if you'd rather."

"No!" Milly's blush went down her back to her kneecaps. She clutched the towel around her more fiercely and she swallowed. "I lived on a farm when I was growing up. My parents raised tomas, and used them to plow the fields. When I was four my father took me out to help him plow but one of the birds took off with me attached… I don't know how my ankle got caught in the harness but I was dragged the full length of the field. I can't remember most of what happened, but I was in bed for months after that." Milly looked down at her side and grimaced. She could still remember the painful days that followed. She didn't begrudge the toma, but she decided she never wanted to be in a hospital bed the rest of her life after that… "It's ugly, I know. No one but my family and Meryl have seen them."

Vash shook his head, "I don't think they're ugly. They're a part of you." He pulled up his sleeve looking at his own scars and sighed. Although he understood completely why Milly didn't want to show them to anyone. He wasn't even sure he would be willing to show his own off in return… In fact, he couldn't. Vash pulled his sleeve down and stood up, "Do you want your clothes?"

"Uh…" Milly thought about the fact that he'd have to touch her underwear which had to be dirty and it was just disgusting to even think about it and so embarrassing to boot… "I guess so, I'm sorry." A moment later a towel was handed in and Milly unwrapped it in the bottom of the tub to find all of her clothing neatly wrapped within to keep them from getting wet. She pulled on her undergarments, pants and shirt and finally felt relaxed. With a deep breath she opened the shower curtain and looked at Vash.

He avoided looking at her, his eyes thoughtful. "I'm so sorry about all this," she said slowly, sitting down on the edge of the tub.

The gunman glanced at her, "It's not your fault. The door just got stuck on its own."

"No… I mean, about all of this. If I hadn't made that stupid suggestion a few days… How long has it been since the cave in anyway?"

"Yesterday, you slept straight through."

Milly's stomach grumbled. She hadn't eaten since breakfast… "Oh…" She shook her head before continuing, "Anyway, it's my fault you got into this whole mess and I'm sorry. As soon as I get out of here I think I'm going to go tell Meryl I'm sorry and…"

Vash reached out and put his hand on her knee and he was looking at her with a disappointed expression. "I'm as much to blame as you are. If it weren't for that stupid bounty those hunters wouldn't have taken them up on the offer…" He shook his head and let it sink to his chest. His hand fell from her knee and he looked wilted. Milly felt sorry for him all over again. Maybe that's all this was, just pity? She hated to think that her feelings for him were rooted in such an emotion, maybe empathy rather? They were really in the same boat together, forced to be together in dangerous circumstances while everyone was telling them that they couldn't have normal lives and couldn't be happy like all the rest.

This was the first time she realized she'd ever seen him without his red coat and it made him seem vulnerable. Vash's normally spiked hair was soft and falling over his face and around his ears, he probably took a shower the night before and hadn't fixed it. He was today, a completely different person. Milly wondered if this was closer to the man he really was, not the man everyone thought he was, or the man he made himself out to be. His face was scruffy and needed a shave, and he was wearing an old pair of sweatpants and an old long-sleeved t-shirt, both of which had seen better days.

Reaching out, she put her hand on Vash's head and he jumped slightly, looking up at her. Milly smiled, "I guess we're even then," she said finally. Letting her hand fall to his cheek, then to his shoulder, she leaned forward, moving herself off the rim of the bathtub and onto the floor and set her head against his chest. Vash didn't move at first, watching her with the loneliest expression she'd ever seen. Milly closed her eyes, unable to look at him again, listening to his heart pounding in his chest, although something below his shirt didn't feel quite right. She didn't ask what he was hiding, it was probably for a good reason.

Slowly, Vash put his arms around her and Milly opened her eyes, a smile on her lips. She felt good in his arms, and he enjoyed being able to look into her blue eyes. It was a pity things were the way they were, that he couldn't tell her what he really was, how he had to continue the search for his brother he wasn't even entirely sure still lived. But he had a feeling as twins do that the other part of his soul was out there somewhere wandering. Would someone like Milly understand? Some people knew, those that lived with him in his home, but he hadn't been there in so long… And most people on the planet knew nothing of plants, knew nothing of ancient technologies, and he didn't want anything spread around either. Vash's heart ached, how hard it was to want to tell someone who he was and to be accepted! But there was an underlying fear that Milly would tell Meryl and Meryl would tell Bernadelli and then…

He knew he would never be able to tell her. Vash regretted not being able to trust her. Maybe in another universe they could have been friends, confidants, maybe even lovers. But in this reality, he could fool himself by pretending, perhaps even enjoying a few warm kisses, but it would all end, because that is the way it was with immortality. Only he would go on. These three days were mere blinks of an eye to him, and even though he tried his hardest to enjoy every moment, they were nearly over now.

Milly moved in his arms and he looked down at her. "Are you okay?"

"My knees are falling asleep," Milly said sheepishly. She pulled away from him and sat down with her legs crossed on the floor. "That's better."

Vash joined her on the floor a moment later, putting his head on his hand, elbow on kneecap, and just stared at her. Humans were just so precious. Didn't matter what size, shape or color they were, they were all just such wonders. He loved them all, was inspired by them, thrived to be like them, and he wished that one day he could be accepted by them. How could a species be so diverse? Animals weren't like that, they could have different personalities like cats or dogs, but they were still all in essence, the same. They all ate to live, lived to reproduce, and then died. Humans had goals, aspirations, formed alliances and broke friendships, had children, worked and some thrived, others gave up, but they all had a purpose, a flame that burned within them. He enjoyed every moment with them, and loved the days he could spend with them.

Meryl didn't realize the reason he could spend weeks playing with children and goofing off. They were only children for such a short time. He had seen children born and die of old age within his own lifespan. A few weeks were nothing. His memories of these people were so much more precious when he was able to spend more time with them. Vash was even, in his own way, happy that the insurance girls were following him. For once he had someone there beside him in his journeys. Even though they were a bit annoying at times, he was already starting to count on them to be there. Just as Milly was here with him now, watching him with those innocent eyes of someone who could see good in everyone.

"I'd give you a c-cent for your thoughts…" Milly started, causing Vash to blink into _now_ again. "But I don't have any money apparently." She had her hands in her pockets which were completely empty.

"Sorry," Vash said after a moment, "The hospital was really hurting for funds so I kinda helped myself to your…" He looked abashed and Milly frowned.

"What are you saying?"

Biting his lip, Vash said, "I took your wallet and gave them everything in it. Not that there was much, and I'll pay you back for it… But they didn't have any money for supplies and between both of us we had enough to help them out…" He looked up at her, his aqua eyes so sweetly pleading, Milly started to giggle.

"It's… It's okay. I understand. I'll just have to hold out sending money home until next month."

Vash's eyes went wide, "You… Oh, I'm sorry…" He started to fumble on the floor, glancing back over his shoulder and remembered the door was still sealed shut and he couldn't do anything to open it, at least not without breaking the door down… He didn't really have the money to repay the hotel manager for a broken door. As it was he'd only paid for one more day and he would have to be on his way again very soon. But what about Milly? "I didn't mean to give away your…"

Milly lifted her hands, "It's okay, really. I'm just trying to pay my parents back for helping me get my job, that's all. They really didn't say I had to, but I just thought it was something I should do." Her hands dropped to her ankles and she shrugged. "It was sweet of you to help out the hospital, and I'm glad I got to help, but what will you do? I get paid once a month…"

"I'll just find a job as a bodyguard," Vash said after a moment. "Or maybe some other job. My reputation proceeds me. People hire me for all sorts of things, well, you saw at the mansion…"

"Oh yes!" Milly nodded, "I see. You work for what you need and then go on to the next town right?"

Vash nodded, "Kinda like that. I don't need much. Food and a roof over my head once in awhile."

"It's very noble of you." She stretched her legs and let them fall on either side of Vash's hips. Milly looked up at the ceiling. "You know, it's kinda nice being stuck in here with you. Kinda normal."

"You're right, it is," he agreed. He shrugged and leaned back against the door. It wasn't a very big bathroom all in all, there was just barely enough room between the tub, the toilet and vanity for the two of them to sit on the floor without touching. He reached out his hand and placed it on her ankle. Milly didn't flinch as he started rub her foot. "We did make it to the third day."

"Yup, we sure did."

"Think we could finish it out?"

Milly lowered her head and smiled. "Sure, why not? We should find a way to get Meryl and Mr. Wolfwood back for hiring those bounty hunters, don't you think?"

Vash felt his lips pull back in a grin. "That's a brilliant idea. I have just the thing too…"

"Oooh," Milly said, she leaned forward, hands on Vash's knees. "This should be fun!"

Author's note: This chapter was actually part of another Vash/Milly story I worked on about a year ago. It went up for a very short time on but was taken down after about a week since no one seemed interested in it! However, I couldn't just allow the shower scene to go the way of the dinosaur, so I found a way to fit it back in. The original version got kinda "steamy" in more ways than one! I like this version however because really, as a few people have pointed out to me, Vash and Milly seem so perfect together as friends, they're too much alike! Such goofballs who love everyone.

_Thanks to everyone for their reviews! I'm so happy that a few other people like to see the hijinks that ensue when Vash and Milly get together! And I love the remarks about Wolfwood and Meryl too… Wait and see what they're up to next!_


	12. Day Three The Good News

Day Three – The Good News 

It was about time for her partner to get up, Meryl decided as she threw on her traveling cloak and got used to the heft of the derringers again. Her shoulders were muscular from all of the years carrying them around with her, and she'd developed quite a left hook, one that the priest felt the day before when she finally couldn't stand it anymore. He got let out of the hospital about the same time as Milly, and avoided her like the plague now. She smiled to herself, served him right for getting them into such a mess. And to top it off Vash saw the little display and found out every last detail of their plot. She sighed. It had not worked out the way she wanted it to, and the gunman took Milly back to his hotel even with the doctors and nurses complaining the entire way.

Meryl worried that he might do something to her… But the way he doted on her and carefully brushed the bangs from her eyes as she lay in the hospital bed after her head was examined… Meryl sighed and realized she should just give up. He was a sweet man just like Milly said he was. There was just no proof that besides the fact Vash was followed by every kind of trouble known to man, he also knew how to get out of it and keep those around him safe from harm. If her friend was in good hands, those hands would have to be Vash the Stampede's.

But that still didn't mean she would sit idly by while Milly had fun! No way! Meryl slung the strap of her typewriter over her shoulder and headed out the door and down to the lobby. She nearly missed the dark suited priest as he lit up a cigarette on the front porch until he said, "Hey."

"You just don't learn do you?" Meryl asked, a bit perturbed by the rogue. He shook out his match and looked at her with eyes asking forgiveness. She sighed. "What do you want now, Mr. Wolfwood? I think we've both received due punishment for what we did yesterday so I suppose we can start over."

Wolfwood nodded, "I just wanted to apologize," he said after a moment. He placed the smoke to his lips and pushed away from the wall. His cross sat to the side, and he hefted it onto his shoulder, "I got carried away and for that I feel really bad for what happened to the big girl. I thought maybe I could join you in apologizing to her."

"Really? You'd do that?" Meryl asked, suddenly glad she wouldn't have to take all of the blame onto her shoulders when Milly found out the truth of what happened yesterday. The priest was mostly at fault for hiring the bounty hunters, but she had done her own level best at making life miserable for Milly for two days. It was about time she just accept the relationship between her friend and the gunman.

"Sure," the priest said slowly, "Besides, I wouldn't want either you or her to be mad at me…" He rubbed his chin with his hand. It was black and blue from Meryl's fist. Wolfwood tested it and squinted and Meryl knew it still hurt him. She also knew that he was keeping out of her reach, carefully standing about five feet away from her at all times. He nodded to the hotel down the road, "Shall we go give them a wake up call?"

Meryl nodded and followed him down the road. Things were really hopping today for some reason. After the commotion at the cave the day before, things were lively since the miners were back to business and people were eagerly getting prepared for a tourist industry in the caves as soon as they cleaned up and rebuilt the tunnels. The bounty for the Hard Luck Gang was reverted to the city thanks to Meryl's well-timed knock out of the priest, and the mayor himself bought out the caves to stop the dispute. From now on the caves were public property with all proceeds would go to making May City a better place to be rather than an outlaw haven.

Wolfwood wasn't all too happy about it, but he did receive a motorcycle from the impound yard as thanks for his help in the capture. It had some work that needed to be done, so most likely he'd be staying in town for a time, but figured he would be far, far away from Vash and the insurance girls within a week. That made him somehow happy. The group put his head in a wringer time and time again and Vash was giving him fits. He didn't like the idea that the brother of his boss was such a fruitcake and he was still debating on whether he was the right guy at all. However, there were a few unmistakable hints, and Nicholas knew he had to check and see if his theory was correct before he rejoined them.

The little insurance girl headed into the Sand Dune Hotel and into the main lobby. Nicholas deposited his spent cigarette in an ashtray and followed her in. There was commotion behind the front desk and bellhops and the manager were all dashing around looking for something, ignoring the visitors. Someone yelled about an emergency in room two-oh-seven and another person said they'd found the screwdriver. A maid rushed by and out of site and Meryl stopped and looked him over her shoulder. "I hope Vash didn't do something I'm going to need to fill out paperwork for again…"

"You have to do that every time he stirs up trouble, don't you?"

Meryl shook her head, "No, only when the involved parties are insured by Bernadelli. Although we do have to make a note of it if he causes any problems where someone may try to file a false claim." She patted her typewriter, "That's my job though, and I like it."

"You're one strange girl, you know that?"

"Maybe so, but I've never claimed otherwise," the little girl smiled and turned her attention to the upstairs balcony. The manager was scrambling about, wringing his hands, and a maid rushed out from the farthest room on the left. They conversed for a moment, the manager smiled and all the commotion ceased and things seemed to go back to normal. The old manager, he was a man in his fifties, saw them standing in the lobby and hurried to come greet them.

"Welcome, welcome to the Sand Dune!"

Wolfwood pointed his finger at the room where he had just been standing, "What was going on up there?"

"A couple got stuck in their bathroom this morning. We had to break the door down to get them out, but it's all better now and we'll be getting a new door shortly." He smiled, "They were such a nice couple, said because they spent so much time in the bathroom together that they were going to get engaged and promised they'd use our banquet facilities for their reception." Turning, he went to the counter and started fishing for the log, "So, do you plan on staying here tonight?"

"Actually," Meryl said, "We were looking for our friends, they were supposed to be staying here, although I didn't find out the room number last night before we parted." She reached into her typewriter case and produced a card, "Here's my card. If you ever need to change your insurance provider…"

The priest coughed and Meryl frowned, she looked up at him, but he wasn't paying her any attention. His eyes were diverted to the room upstairs. "I think we may have a problem," he said slowly, his gray eyes finally falling on her.

"What?" Turning on her heel, Meryl glanced up at the balcony again. Two very familiar people were walking out of room two-oh-seven… Vash the Stampede and Milly Thompson, hand in hand, were followed along from behind by one of the maids who seemed to be gushing over something, her hands moving wildly about. "Milly…" Meryl murmured.

"Oh, there they are now!" The manager gushed, he waved, "Mr. Smith! There you are! I was just telling this nice couple about you and your fiancée."

Meryl cast a death look at the manager. "Did you just say _fiancée_?"

"Yes, of course, those were the ones who got stuck in the bathroom. I do say that Mr. Smith has been a splendid guest, very quiet, and always paying ahead. He said that Miss Thompson surprised him by coming into town last night while I was off duty. It was a nice surprise." The old man was just so happy his cheeks were pink as he watched Vash and Milly make their way down the stairs.

Now that they were closer, the maid's words came in crystal clear. "My aunt Betty will be able to help you out just perfectly! She's got the best wedding dresses in all of May City and I think my cousin Susan will be able to decorate even on such a short notice…."

"That would be so wonderful!" Milly chirped in response. She was smiling as she looked from the maid to Meryl, "Oh hi Meryl! Guess what! Vash asked me to marry him!"


	13. Day Three Wedding Plans

Day Three – Wedding Plans 

Grinning from ear to ear, Milly had the picture of Meryl passing out in the hotel lobby vividly in her head. Her little friend came to soon enough, but the memory would last her a lifetime. The sputtering, the incoherent babbling, and the repeated, "Are you really going to do this?" More than made up for the grief Meryl had put her through these last few days. But even though Milly had been ready to forgive Meryl right then and there and tell her it was all a joke… Vash guided her out of the hotel and into the street following Lynn the maid to her aunt's dress shop.

Meryl followed behind with the bemused priest, she kept tugging at his sleeve saying things like, "This can't be happening right? It's all a joke isn't it?" But every time Meryl turned to look at them again, Milly clung ever tighter to Vash's arm, acting just like all of her sisters did with their fiancés. Milly paid special attention to every little detail that struck a new chord with Meryl, the panic in her face was unmistakable.

"I think she's falling for it, wouldn't you?" Vash whispered into her ear, pretending to say sweet nothings while Milly waved a hand in front of her face.

"Oh yes," Milly said in return. She looked over her shoulder, "Vash had a terrific idea!" Milly stopped, this game was even more fun than the one she played the first day, especially since she knew it was all fake. Meryl came up to her, stopping a few feet away, Wolfwood keeping his distance, but close enough to hear. "Would you be my maid of honor?"

The little insurance girl started sputtering again and with a nudge from the priest finally managed to nod. "Of… Of course Milly… I'd be happy to stand… Stand up for you and… Mr. Vash…"

"Aw, don't call me Mister!" Vash said with a grin and came to put his hand on Meryl's shoulder. She blushed red as he said; "We're going to be family now!"

"But I'm not…"

"You're just like a sister to me," Milly chirped. She looked at Vash, "Do you think Mr. Wolfwood should be in the wedding too?"

Vash nodded, "Yes, but should he marry us or be my best man?" He mocked scratching his chin and held up a finger, "I think best man. What do you say Nicholas D. Wolfwood?"

The priest blinked, "Uh, I guess so."

"Then it's settled!" Milly said clapping her hands. "Now I just need the dress, find ourselves a priest and a chapel and we'll be all set!" She turned on her heel and pointed to a church spire down the street, "Okay Dear, you go see if you can find a priest, and I'll go with Lynn to Betty's Bridal. It's not good luck to see the bride on the day of the wedding but I think as long as you don't see the dress we should be okay…"

"Wait a second!"

Everyone turned to look at Meryl, her face was beet red as she stammered. Finally the incoherent babbling stopped and she looked at Milly and Vash, "You're getting married **today**?"

"Of course!" Vash replied, "No time like the present!" He reached over and kissed Milly on the cheek, "Okay Beautiful, I'll come find you at the dress shop when I'm finished. Hey Wolfwood, you coming with me while we let the ladies get gussied up?" The priest shrugged and Meryl cast him daggers as if he were a traitor. Nicholas shrugged it off and followed Vash to the church, leaving the three girls behind.

"It's just so romantic!" Lynn was gushing. She had stood a little way away memorizing every little thing in hopes her own wedding would be as exciting. "And your fiancé is just so handsome, Miss Thompson!" She clasped her hands together and waved, "My aunt Betty will have just the dress for you, I'm sure! If she doesn't we'll do something special right away!" The little maid disappeared down the street and Milly started after her, only to find Meryl clinging to her arm.

"What is it, Meryl?"

"You… This is a joke right? You're just getting me back for yesterday aren't you?"

Milly willed herself not to spoil the game. It wouldn't be fair to Vash if she did this early in. Instead she smiled a very genuinely happy smile and said, "Why would it be? Vash and I have so much in common and well, he saved me yesterday and when he asked me to marry him I just couldn't help but say yes! Once we're married you won't have to worry about firing me, I know it would break your heart anyway and of course you'll still be able to follow us around, just now you'll have two of us to keep an eye out for." She grinned and held out her hand down the sidewalk, "Shall we go see the dresses?"

Meryl tried not to faint again. She looked at Milly's eyes and could not for the life of her, figure out if Milly was lying or not. It really seemed like she was telling the honest truth and it scared the dickens out of her! But if this was what Milly _really_ wanted… "I'm sorry I said I'd fire you," she said finally. "I wouldn't really do that. And I'm sorry I hired the bounty hunters. We're still friends right? You'd tell me if you were angry at me, wouldn't you?"

"Of course I'm not angry!" Milly rolled her eyes and grabbed Meryl into a hug. "Why else would I have no other person in the world as my maid of honor? You're my first, last and only bestest friend in the whole world! I couldn't imagine having anyone else there when I get married this afternoon! And it's all thanks to you because you brought me along on your assignment!"

Dislodging herself from Milly, Meryl stumbled backwards. "It's really true then, isn't it? You really _are_ getting married, aren't you?" Milly nodded. Meryl shook her head, then put the best smile on her face she could muster, "Well, I guess we ought to find you a dress and get you out of those smelly clothes."

"Smelly?" Milly sniffed herself and grimaced, "Oh… I guess you're right… Oh no, I forgot, I've been wearing these same clothes for three days now!" She made a face, "We'd better hurry!" She grabbed Meryl by the hand and dragged her down the street to Betty's and in the front door.

Betty and Lynn were right there ready for them, "Okay!" The older lady was coifed and pressed, her makeup meticulously done and every inch of her was sparkling as she held out a dress to Milly. "Let's get you out of those rags and turn you into Princess Cinderella!"

Meryl rolled her eyes as Milly was ushered into a changing room. Betty disappeared with her and Lynn turned to Meryl. "We need to find you a dress too if you're going to be her maid of honor."

"I'll be fine…" Meryl said slowly, but Lynn wasn't convinced. She started fishing through the dresses on the racks, found a beautiful light violet one and held it up into the light. Meryl bit her lip… It was a mighty pretty dress… And it _would_ give her an excuse to buy a new purse to match… "Well… Okay, maybe we can try a couple on."

_Author's Note: Will Vash and Milly really get married? Will Meryl and Wolfwood find a way to stop the wedding or will they give way to their happiness? Find out next week as… Okay that's really cheesy! Heh heh, but I couldn't help it, this story is just so much fun to work on! Thanks to all of my readers! Thanks Aine of Knockaine! It's a real honor to know you're reading my story – everyone – if you haven't read Aine's story "Forever Mine" – go, go now, read it! Wait… If there's more chapters of this story – read those first, then hers… Thanks to all of my other readers!_


	14. Day Three Assembling the Players

Day Three – Assembling the Players 

Vash glanced over his shoulder as the priest followed him. Wolfwood seemed amused more than anything about the goings on. It was almost as if he didn't quite believe that Vash would go through with marrying the big girl. Or maybe he had some other plan up his sleeve… It didn't matter, Vash already knew that he had Meryl going, and he was ready to take it as far as he could go. Providing Milly didn't spill the beans. He put his hands in his pockets and brought out his sunglasses, putting them on his nose as he thought about the big girl. If she passed this test and managed to fool Meryl for the entire day, then he had faith maybe someday he could tell her the truth about himself too. Maybe he could finally find a new confidant for the impossible things he wanted to tell her.

He shrugged. If not, at least he had one last enjoyable day torturing the little insurance girl. But how to get the priest? Vash pushed his glasses up on his nose. There had to be a way to push Wolfwood over the edge too, but his cool demeanor and unreadable face were a mystery to him. Really, Nicholas D. Wolfwood didn't have any ties to this group other than meeting them on the bus a week ago. He seemed to be enjoying himself, even with the blackened jaw and empty pocketbook.

In fact… Vash bit his lip, he didn't have any money either. Neither did the insurance girl. They had already talked to the manager and the maid in order to arrange the fake reception and dress without any charges, but how to secure a church and priest without money? If he were alone he could have explained the situation, but with Wolfwood around, he had to play this game straight-up otherwise the gig would be up. Vash closed an eye in thought, he hadn't planned this far. He was sure one of the two would have called their bluff by now…

The same thought troubled him all the way up the front steps and into the sanctuary where the pastor was standing at the podium, running through his sermon to empty pews. The elderly man looked up and smiled, "Welcome to the House of God… I'm Reverend Brown."

Vash took off his sunglasses, "Hello Reverend. I wanted to ask you if you'd be willing to perform a wedding this afternoon."

Wolfwood came to stand next to him, his gray eyes on Vash from time to time. He was pretty sure the little girl was right, that this was all a gag, but Vash was putting on a pretty good show. He kept waiting for the gunman to slip up, but so far this amusing game was being played fairly. Nicholas heard the commotion the night before at the hospital, how Vash gave up every last double dollar on him in order to help the hospital buy medicine from out of town for the children's ward. He'd even seen him hand over Milly's pocket book as well. The two of them were broke.

He smiled to himself as the pastor came down from the podium to shake hands with Vash. Wolfwood knew how easily he could set up a joke like this, the manager and maid were probably in on it, but the pastor… There was no way. "You're the man who saved the children in the cave in yesterday, aren't you?"

Nodding, Vash took the reverend's hand, "Yeah… I was just in the right place a the right time."

"Oh no! You even managed to help the Marshall capture the Hard Luck Gang. Those fellows were like clockwork coming into town once a month to stir up trouble. They always failed of course, but finally the mayor decided enough was enough and put the bounty on them. Now they'll go to prison and the town will be safe again." Brown extended his hand, "I saw you there as well, you helped stop Yast and Zan too, didn't you?"

Forcing a smile, Wolfwood shook the man's hand, "It was nothing really…" _Nothing but trouble._ Nicholas tried not to think about how much time he should spend in a confessional after yesterday's events. But perhaps God already found a way to punish him… He had the bruises to prove it.

"So," the pastor started again, "You say you want to have a wedding today? Is it that young lady you saved in the cave?"

Vash nodded, "Yes, that's her. We decided not to wait any longer. You never know when something horrible could happen!" He smiled and looked around, "Although I'm sure this is a pretty costly place… And I'm afraid I don't have any money after taking her to the hospital to get her head looked at."

"Why I'd never charge a hero for his wedding!" Brown turned on his heel, "This is a house of God, and when someone does His work, it should be rewarded! What time do you want the wedding? Shall we set it for, oh, four o'clock? Do you need help with any other plans?"

Grinning, Vash nodded, "I need to get invitations out. Milly's family is too far away to invite and I don't have any around here either. So we were thinking about inviting the entire town to attend."

"Wonderful! I know just the woman who can round everyone up."

Wolfwood looked at Vash and leaned toward him. "Are you sure you don't want a _small_ wedding, Needle Noggin?"

Vash shook his head, "Why? I want everyone there to celebrate with us!"

Skeptical still, Nicholas just pressed his teeth together. "Okay…" He waved at the pastor, "I guess four o'clock it is!"

"Terrific! Leave it to me! Just be back here at four!" The pastor called for someone in the back, "Okay Glenda, do your magic! We've got a wedding!" Vash watched him go and smiled to himself, that worked out better than he'd planned. He wanted to let out a sigh of relief, but Wolfwood was still standing too close to him. Now what to do until the wedding?

"Hey, since you're the best man, how about throwing me a bachelor party?"

Wolfwood's mouth dropped open, "Well uh…"

"Come on! It's the least you can do!" Vash put his arm around the priest's shoulders. "I'm sure you have enough spare change to buy your buddy a drink right?"

Nicholas ground his molars together, he only had enough to buy gasoline out of this town… If he spent the money he'd be stuck even longer than he planned… "Sure… Whatever you say…" He was suddenly not quite so amused.


	15. Day Three Dressing the Part

Day Three – Dressing the Part 

With a long dark sigh, Meryl stared at herself in the vanity mirror. She didn't look anything like herself at the moment. Hair done up in curlers, a facial mask colored her skin green, and she wore an atrocious pink fluffy bathrobe. It wasn't her. She wasn't fluffy or fancy, she was just herself, the working girl who chose derringers to get her in and out of situations that were oftentimes dangerous. But Meryl was happy that way, it was the profession she chose, and after the one bad experience of being girlie, she decided never to do it again.

So why was she back? Meryl avoided setting her hand on her facial mask, her fingers up her jawbone in order to rest her head on her palm. Elbow on the cold marble surface of the vanity and she closed her eyes. There were about five more minutes to this stupid facial when Betty, Lynn and Milly would sure to be back to check on her and finish the beautifying. Meryl wasn't sure what irked her most, the fact that she was preparing for Milly's _wedding_ or the fact that Milly _knew_ she wasn't girlie and yet she was making her dress up anyway.

It wouldn't go very far. She was _sure_ it was just a prank between Vash and Milly. At least Meryl hoped so because… Because… Meryl opened her eyes looking into her own reflection. She looked right at herself and said, "Because it's just not _fair_, that's why." And it wasn't. Her last relationship was more of a convenience than anything. She agreed to marry George because he was moving to December City and wanted her to go with him. They moved in together and after the first week he broke up with her because she _wasn't_ going to sleep in the same room, or the same bed with him until they were married! He didn't want to get married until they could buy a house together, and she just couldn't justify living with him any longer. She found a job at Bernadelli a few days before and met Milly who was struggling to keep an apartment by herself.

Things worked out well, Meryl needed a place to sleep and Milly needed a roommate. By the end of the week they were drinking buddies, complaining about men and families and needs and wants and when they got depressed they went to the firing range together. The truth was, Meryl needed a friend more than she had realized, and it was very clear to her that Milly couldn't get along with out her either. It wasn't just because they worked together, they came to depend on each other for support.

Maybe that was the reason she felt abandoned when Milly went out drinking with Vash that first night. Meryl didn't want to hang out with the womanizer, it hurt her four ways to New Miami when he didn't so much as flash her a glance, but he'd flirt with everything else that had breasts. Meryl glanced down at herself and sighed even louder… "Oh, so _that's_ the reason…" Milly was fairly well endowed… Meryl shook her head, it _couldn't_ be because of that. They were drunk, that's all, and then they just got carried away and now it was leading up to something that they wouldn't be able to reverse, and Meryl knew she just _had_ to stop it. But how?

Leaving them alone was obviously not working. Plan C failed too apparently. Meryl thought by letting Mr. Vash take Milly back with him, then maybe they would have realized they didn't have any real feelings for one another and it would all end… Meryl turned and glanced at the clock behind her. The wedding was in two hours. She lifted a hand to her head and reached between the curlers to scratch a spot that was pulling. Two hours to deadline and she didn't have a single clue at how to stop the wedding from happening.

Five minutes elapsed as she sat wracking her brains until the "wedding-nazi trio" arrived. "Meryl! Are you ready for the last touches?" Milly bounced in and sat down next to Meryl at the vanity, her hair already curled and falling around her face in little ringlets. She was glowing, simply beautiful. Meryl sighed.

"Sure Milly."

"Oh good! All right Betty, do your magic!" Milly clapped her hands together and put her hand down on Meryl's arm. "I'm so glad you're here with me right now." She turned to the mirror and pushed a ringlet out of her eyes. Meryl watched her and wondered where Milly's girlie side had come from. Milly was always the definition of tomboy. She had trouble putting on nylons when they were working in the office. Milly never wore makeup, never did anything more than brush out her hair, and yet look at her! She was the beautiful blond haired, blue eyed, girlie-girl that both of them always made fun of when they went shopping in the marketplace. How had this happened?

As Meryl felt the curlers tugged out of her hair, she watched as Milly toyed with the little silver necklace that Vash had given her. Meryl's eyes widened, so, it _was_ him. He did this to her… Meryl wanted to kill him for taking away her friend. It tore her apart inside because she also wanted to give him a big hug for making Milly so very happy… One of the curlers was tugged too abruptly and Meryl let out a noise of dismay. Betty apologized and Milly turned to look at her.

"You okay, Meryl?"

Meryl didn't bother to look at her, "Sure, sure, just fine."

"You sure don't seem fine," Milly said, her mouth turned down in a frown. She knew that Meryl wasn't enjoying this at all…. Of course, she wasn't enjoying it either, the nylons she wore were riding up in places she didn't know they could, something was pinching in an odd area near her armpit, and she swore there was a bobby pin in her ear. She swallowed, maybe the game was going too far. Milly played with her necklace thinking about how disappointed Vash would be if they stopped the game right then… But maybe it would be okay, Meryl would be happy again and everything could go back to normal, right? "Maybe I should tell you that…"

Her good intentions were suddenly put on hold when a knock at the door announced the arrival of a guest. "Come in!" Lynn sing-songed. She went over to the door and opened it to reveal a _very_ handsome priest dressed in a very nice tuxedo. "Why, hello!" Lynn was blushing as she stepped back, "You have a visitor."

Milly's heart pattered in her chest and she froze. What was she thinking? This was Mr. Priest! She couldn't look at him like that… But goodness gracious did he look so handsome wearing that outfit! She felt a blush rising on her cheeks as she turned away, only she faced the mirror and could _still_ see him. choosing to stare at herself instead, she waited to see what Wolfwood was going to say.

"I need to talk to you a minute," he put out a hand to Meryl and Betty slapped his hand away.

"She's not finished!"

Wolfwood shot her a dark look and Meryl turned in her chair much to the older woman's dismay. "I'll be back in a minute." She stood and gave Milly a glance, "I promise." Then, leaving with Wolfwood, they went out into the hallway and closed the door. The priest didn't say a word as they walked down the little hallway to the back door and slipped out into the sunshine. When they knew they were alone they both said in unison.

"We've _got_ to stop this."

Meryl raised her hands in defeat, "I'm out of ideas."

"Same here… He made me spend every last double dollar on renting this tuxedo and buying him a celebratory drink at the bar." Wolfwood tugged at his bowtie and Meryl slapped his hand away and adjusted it for him without thinking. He looked down on her in curiosity until she realized what she was doing and stepped back.

"Sorry."

Nicholas smiled, "No problem. Looks like you've had experience with this before. You have a brother or something?"

"A boyfriend in high school," Meryl replied. She shook her head, trying to get back to business, "Where's Mr. Vash now?"

Hitching a thumb over his shoulder, Wolfwood said, "He's at the church. They're getting the last minute touches on the sanctuary." He reached out and grabbed Meryl's shoulders, "This is just _not_ right. I was pretty sure they would fold by now but I don't think this game is going to end until all of our cards are on the table." They both stared at each other until Meryl closed her eyes.

"I fold."

Wolfwood's jaw dropped open, "_What_! You can't just bail on me now! What about you liking Needle Noggin?"

"I like Milly better, she's my best friend," Meryl shot back. "If marrying Vash will make her happy than I guess I'll just have to go along with it." She gently lifted the priest's hands from her shoulders and she started to turn. "I need to finish getting ready."

"But it _can't_ end like this!"

Meryl shrugged, not bothering to look at him, "Why not let them have the happy ever after?"

"Because we haven't even faced the villain yet!" Nicholas saw Meryl stop in her tracks and he continued, "Did you ever stop to think that maybe there's an evil magician waiting to take away your cute partner? Make her suffer? Vash may be the hero of this story, but until the bad guy is destroyed there will _never_ be a happy ending."

"What makes you think there is a villain in this story?"

"There's _always_ one."

Turning to him again, Meryl looked at Wolfwood, trying to read his expression. She felt a lump form in her stomach. His cold gray eyes spoke of something horrible about to come. He knew something none of the rest of them did… What could it be? Who could… That man, that man Vash was looking for… The one he mentioned when the women in Enepril City caught him. "Do you know who Vash is searching for?"

Wolfwood frowned, "I do." He didn't say anything more and Meryl knew she would never receive an answer from him if she pried for more. Suddenly she was afraid, very afraid for Milly…

"But what if he never finds him? What if Vash and Milly were just to marry, have children, grow old and have a happy ending?"

"If Vash doesn't find him, he'll find Vash," the priest said simply.

Meryl felt a tug in her stomach and she turned again, then back, unable to process the conversation they were having at the moment. How had this turned so bad so quickly? Would things really get as bad as the priest was hinting? Maybe he was simply trying to scare her into changing her mind! She lifted an eyebrow… "Is this your plan?"

"What?"

"To get me scared and then go back in there and scare Milly too…"

"It's all the truth."

Shaking her head, Meryl crossed her hands over her chest. "You only just met Vash a couple weeks ago. How would you know anything about him?"

Wolfwood's mouth shut abruptly and he looked at her. Uh oh. If he argued with her now than his whole position would be blown. He couldn't let her know that he was actually _working_ for the bad guy of the story… Nicholas looked down at her and decided he had to change the conversation and _fast_. "I like your bathrobe," he said with a smirk.

Meryl looked down at herself and she shrieked, realizing the facial mask was still on her face! She squealed and took off into the building again. Wolfwood smiled at himself then hit his forehead with a hand. "That's no good! We still don't know how to stop the wedding!" Grumbling to himself, he pulled a cigarette from the tux pocket and lit it, shaking out the match as he walked down the alleyway to the main street.

The church was decked out with white streamers and paper flowers. There were women and men bustling in and out of the church, people dressed in fancy dresses and talking amongst themselves. Someone waved at him as he came up the steps and said, "Are you in the wedding party?"'

He nodded and was led into the side hall of the church where Vash was sitting at a small table eating a donut. The gunman looked up at him as he arrived and waved at him to sit down. "Hey Wolfwood, how are the girls?"

"Almost ready. The little girl has quite a bit more work to go, but the big girl only needs her dress," he thought about how pretty they were both going to look and glanced at Vash. The gunman looked completely different in a black tuxedo, but he noticed that he still had the mandatory bright red bowtie and cummerbund. "Needle Noggin, I have to ask you something."

Vash swallowed down the last bit of his donut and said, "Yeah, what?"

Wolfwood tried to think of the best way to say it, but realized bluntness would be the best in this circumstance, "You _can't_ marry the insurance girl."

A chuckle arose in Vash's throat and he tried to stifle it but to no avail. After a moment he was laughing heartily and even the priest started to laugh after that. "You really think so," he managed after a moment.

"Yeah, I really do… Quite the gag you've been pulling on us…"

Suddenly Vash stopped laughing, "It's not a gag."

The laughter died in Wolfwood's throat. "What do you mean it's not? You can't be seriously thinking about marrying the big girl, can you?"

"Why not?"

"Because…" Wolfwood gritted his teeth. The secret was going to come out at this rate! He squeezed his hands into fists, and continued in a different vein, "Because, danger follows you everywhere and if you marry her she's just going to get hurt and it's going to haunt you the rest of your life."

Vash's eyes narrowed, and he looked away. The priest was right. Of course he was. It was also the reason that after this day the game he was playing with Milly would end and he'd be unhappy again. He already felt like playtime was over and it was time to move on… But just a few more hours was all he wanted… Just a little bit more time… But Wolfwood was right, eventually he would even have to leave both of the insurance girls behind, no matter how much he wanted them to be there by his side, to keep him company and amuse him. If he found Knives… It would all end. "I know," he said finally.

"So you'll stop this?"

Shaking his head, Vash looked Wolfwood straight in the eye, "Nope." He smiled and stood up.

"Why not!" Nicholas squawked.

The gunman smiled, "Because…" His smile wavered a moment, "Because I've always wondered what it would be like to live a normal life, and I'm afraid this may be the only chance I have left. Do you understand?" He turned away and walked down the hall, "I'll see you in the front of the sanctuary in an hour. Oh look, the guests are starting to arrive." His heart felt heavy and he went into the bathroom, locked the door, and started to cry.

hr 

By three o'clock the town was abuzz about a wedding that was taking place at the Holy Light Chapel, and people were already dressing up to attend. Milly stood behind a folding screen trying to figure out how to work the latches on the back of her dress. Meryl peered around the screen, "Do you need any help Milly?"

"Oh yes, thank you Meryl," Milly said, turning so that Meryl could finish working the latches on her wedding dress. She looked down at the dress wondering if she'd ever be able to wear a dress like this for a real wedding… Her eyes went wide, she was having so much fun, and it only now occurred to her that it wasn't a real wedding and the entire town… Everyone was expecting to see a real wedding! Swallowing, Milly remembered something her big middle brother said, _'Lies are like sandworm tunnels, they don't appear on the surface until suddenly the ground gives way and a whole farm disappears into the sand…'_ She suddenly didn't feel very good, and she put her hand to her neck.

"Are you feeling okay Milly? This dress isn't too tight is it? You've gone pale…" Meryl turned her around looking worried. Was Milly going through wedding jitters? Maybe things were sinking in that it was going too quickly. "Shall we call it off? Maybe it was too soon…"

Milly played with the little silver necklace around her neck, and shook her head. "No, I'm fine Meryl… It has nothing to do with that." She closed her eyes trying to get back into character, the blushing bride… Didn't Vash say that they would hold a party for the town anyway? No matter what happened? If there were gifts they could be returned… No, she was pretty sure that Vash would make sure there weren't gifts because they were traveling and had no use for them. Milly opened her eyes again and smiled brightly, "I was just thinking about how I'm going to miss being your partner," she said.

"You aren't just going to quit once you get married!" Meryl said, trying to convince herself, although she was pretty sure that her boss would fire Milly himself if he found out she had married their target. Then again, maybe she would just forget to put that in her reports… "You'll be in the best position to do your job, being able to keep tabs on Vash twenty-four hours a day without having anyone question why!" She smiled, too many teeth were showing she was sure.

When she got back from talking to Wolfwood, she put on the best smile she could and decided to just give up and give in and follow the lemmings to their demise… Whatever _that_ meant, her father used to say that, some old Earth saying. Meryl let herself become the girlie-girl, got in the dress, got her hair all done up, got her makeup on and helped Milly down the street to the chapel and in the back door where she was to get dressed. Milly was fine and giggling up until this point when the blood drained from her face, but a moment later she was back to normal. Meryl hoped this was the only time that was to happen, she was really worried that Betty had picked out a dress that was too small.

It was very beautiful actually, a train that stretched out behind her seven feet, all beaded, an antique white color, beaded front with small silk ribbon flowers, cut up high around her neck and long sleeves per Milly's request. At first Betty and Lynn argued that it would be too hot, but when they saw Milly's scars they complied immediately and covered her up but good. All she had left now were two more latches.

Meryl finished them, turned Milly around and reached for the veil. "Okay Milly, let's get this pinned in, shall we? I need you to sit down for me." Pushing Milly out from the screen, she maneuvered her over to a stool, plopped her down so as not to wrinkle her dress and started working the veil into position.

From behind, Meryl could only hear the slight sniffles coming from her friend, but soon those sniffles turned into jerks, and Meryl frowned, bending around her friend to look at Milly's face. "You're crying!"

Milly shook her head, wiping her face with her hands, "No I'm not… I'm just…"

"Oh Milly! What's going on? This isn't at all like you…"

The big girl waved Meryl away, she really wasn't sure _why_ she was crying, but it just happened all of a sudden. She was thinking about the town and about everything and how her and Vash had decided that they would make up wedding vows together, and in the vows they would spill the beans on the prank wedding. Vash said it would all be perfect and that folks wouldn't know what hit them until they were having a ball at the reception and farewell party. The next day he was leaving town. When that thought hit her, the tears fell down her cheeks and she couldn't make them stop.

Meryl was trying to give her a tissue and Milly took it, covering up her face. This was all just a big mistake… A _huge_ mistake, all from the beginning. She knew it would be, she knew if she got into anything with Vash that she'd lose her heart and it would be impossible to stop very easily. He was just so kind and so nice and handsome, and it irked Meryl, and a part of her wanted to do it just to get back at Meryl for her luck with men. At least Meryl _had_ a boyfriend at one time, she wasn't so lucky and when Vash… "I'm sorry Meryl."

"What for?"

"For everything…" Milly blew her nose and threw the tissue away before reaching for another. "I'm sorry that I ruined things for you, and caused you so much trouble."

Her friend hugged her, and Milly waited for Meryl as she said, "You haven't caused me any trouble at all. You're my friend. What are friends for anyway?" Meryl pulled away and smiled, "I'm just glad that you're happy… You _are_ happy aren't you? I'll call this whole thing off if you aren't, and then I'll go clobber Mr. Vash for setting you up to do something like this."

Milly smiled, imagining Meryl going after Mr. Vash with her derringers. She _would_ too. Milly had seen Meryl do it to guys who bothered her in the past. This time she had an even bigger reason to do so. She could see it now, Meryl clobbers Vash the Stampede, gets her pictures in all of the papers and ends up getting the bounty for him. Grinning now, Milly nodded, "I'm happy Meryl. Really, I am!"

"All right then," Meryl said, patting Milly's shoulder. "Let me fix your makeup and we'll get this wedding underway!"


	16. Day Three The Wedding

Day Three – The Wedding 

Vash fidgeted at the front of the sanctuary. When Reverend Brown said his wife would get the entire town there, he wasn't kidding! Luckily Vash had enough time to tell the pastor the truth that the wedding was a hoax in the few minutes that Wolfwood disappeared to go see the insurance girls. Brown and his wife laughed so hard they were in tears and heartily agreed to help him and Milly finish out the last of the plans. The party afterwards would be the biggest May City had ever seen, even larger than the party held during the Quick Draw tournament.

In fact, the reverend said he was going to talk to the mayor of the city and name it a holiday of some sort, in order to take the place of the tournament that had seen the end of its days. He laughed as he went out of the church to do exactly what he said. Vash went and bought himself a dozen donuts and sat to wait for Wolfwood to arrive.

Now Brown was back and the church was packed and there were five minutes before the organist would sit down in her seat and start the wedding march. Vash's heart was pounding, even knowing that the wedding was all fake… He still couldn't wait to see what Milly looked like in her dress. Part of him wished it _could_ be real, to be able to stand up here and witness to the world that he loved someone enough to spend the rest of his life… or her life… He was immortal, he knew he'd outlive anyone he were to marry, but that didn't matter… It wouldn't happen.

Four minutes. He glanced over at Wolfwood. Vash was surprised the priest cleaned up so nicely and that he was now standing without making a sound, not fidgeting, just waiting for the wedding to start. Occasionally Wolfwood would glance into the crowd as one of the children waved at him like Neil or one of the other gang members. Vash smiled to himself, he sure did wish he could have children like that of his own… He knew he couldn't, but it was nice to imagine it. Each of them having his eyes or his hair, the unruly mess they'd make as they ate donuts for breakfast…

Vash snapped out of his imagination as suddenly the organ music started. He swallowed. How had four minutes passed so quickly? His eyes turned down to the back of the church where a little girl in a pink dress was spreading paper flower petals down the main aisle. She looked at him and smiled and when she reached the front, her mother took her up into her arms and carried her over to sit in the front pew. Then it was time for Meryl…

The little insurance girl… She didn't look like a girl anymore… Vash felt a blush rush to his cheeks when he saw her in the most beautiful violet gown, her hair unruly no more, makeup perfect, everything claiming she was a picture of womanhood. He had never seen her like this, and it made his heart ache to see her. She was even smiling, something he hadn't seen her do in awhile, and he wondered if she was accepting this wedding or if it was killing her inside, he really couldn't tell. She looked up at him and blushed herself, averting her eyes as she stood across from him. One step to the right a bit and he would have been marrying _Meryl_ instead… Vash suddenly wondered what that would be like.

But he didn't have time to imagine it as the tempo of the music changed and Milly appeared in the back doorway of the church. His breath caught in his throat as Vash looked at her. A changed girl, completely different just like her little partner. The gunman realized suddenly that he would never see the insurance girls the same way after that. He just _couldn't_. They would never be the pests following him because he wouldn't be able to look at other girls with them around. Maybe to irk Meryl from time to time… But never seriously.

Milly looked up at him and smiled. Gosh he was handsome. She glanced from Vash to Wolfwood and realized that both men were just so gorgeous she could go for either of them. If only her job would ever let her be just a normal girl! Milly tried not to trip as she walked down the long aisle to the front, watching Vash watching her the whole way. Meryl was smiling, Vash was smiling, and even Mr. Priest was smiling. Milly smiled back. How had she been so blessed to be able to have three such wonderful people with her? They were her new family, like the ones she left behind, but better. They were her friends, confidants, her partners in crime and a good friendly flirt when she felt down. Wolfwood winked at her when she glanced at him and a blush rose to her cheeks. Yes, he wasn't quite so creepy if you put him in a tuxedo and put a warm smile on his face.

She turned her eyes to Vash again and then stepped up the stairs to join him in front of Reverend Brown. When Meryl disappeared to talk to Mr. Priest, Lynn said she had talked to Mrs. Brown and they all knew that the wedding was fake, so it was all arranged perfectly. They had the vows ready and would be ready to break the news to the town and there were people ready with cameras to take pictures of Meryl and Nicholas' faces… Milly smiled brightly trying to think about how much she was ready for the game to end.

"Welcome friends," Reverend Brown said, "We come here to join Milly Anne Thompson and Vash Saverem in holy matrimony…" He smiled and continued on through the normal vows.

Vash was hardly listening. His heart was pounding as he waited for the punch line. It was going to hurt as much as a bullet to the chest… He listened to the Reverend, the clock was ticking down… It would all end at the exchanging of the rings, since there were none…

There was a tap on his elbow, and Vash snapped out of his stupor, Wolfwood was trying to hand him something… To his horror, it was a pillow with two golden rings on it. His eyes went wide and Nicholas was smiling. "Surprise," he said with a malicious note to his voice. "You can't get married without these you know."

"Thank you," Vash said through gritted teeth, taking the rings and looking at the Reverend. Brown just smiled brighter, and Vash felt that suddenly the tables were turning on him… When had Wolfwood gotten the rings?

Nicholas handed the little pillow back to the boy who brought them up. It cost him his motorcycle as leverage, but he'd gotten the rings in the time that Vash left him. He figured if the wedding was going to occur, he might as well make it official. There were sweat drops appearing on Vash's forehead now as he turned to look at Milly. Wolfwood also convinced the Reverend to the tell him about the prank and also get him to turn the tables. The wedding would go all the way through, even to the _real_ marriage certificate if they didn't call their bluff. Wolfwood grinned and gave Meryl a thumb's up behind Vash's back.

Milly saw it and then looked down at the rings. "Oh no," she breathed out, looking from the pastor to Vash and back again. What was going on? Did Wolfwood figure it out? What about Meryl? She had to stop it… She started to open her mouth when Brown cut her off.

"Now Vash, place the ring on Milly's finger…" He reached out and took her hand gently. Vash could feel Milly's pulse racing as he held her wrist. He looked at her and waited for her to either agree or decline the ring, but she didn't move, she was frozen to the spot. Vash bit his lip, maybe it had gone a bit too far… But the look on Meryl's face was just… She knew. He suddenly knew she knew and that she and Wolfwood had turned the tables. Vash slipped the ring on Milly's finger.

"I do," he said suddenly, cutting off the pastor.

"Well, then… Someone's eager to get to the honeymoon!" The room laughed as Brown continued, "And Milly…" Milly took the ring from Vash and looked at it. She swallowed. What was he thinking? They couldn't just finish out this wedding, they had to stop it right then… But… Milly closed her eyes for a moment, thinking about all of her brothers' and sisters' weddings, what happened after the rings, the kiss! And then there were marriage certificates… If those weren't signed the wedding wasn't real… Milly opened her eyes again and placed the ring on Vash's ring finger. Okay, so that was the game they were playing…

Meryl frowned. She was _sure_ Milly would break. Why wasn't she breaking? "I do," Milly replied suddenly and Meryl's heart started to pound. This was it… There wasn't any turning back now… Was this real? Was this whole thing actually _real_? Was Milly really going to marry Vash here and now? Were they wrong? Had Wolfwood called it incorrectly when he found her as she stepped out of Milly's dressing room to use the bathroom?

"Then, with the power invested in me by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit… I pronounce you…"

( I Am I evil or what? I wanted to thank everyone so far for reading! To those who want them to go through with it… Will they get married? Will Meryl and Wolfwood lose this little game? HEH HEH HEH Stay tuned for the next chapter! /I For the record… is really getting on my nerves… can't even get it to italicize this!)


	17. Day Four All Good Things

Day Four – All Good Things… 

Spring sunshine poured through the windows and when the light and heat penetrated into her eyelids long enough, Milly stretched, yawned, and opened her eyes. It was morning already and it looked like it would turn into a really good day. She felt the soft sheets on her legs and the cool pillow under her cheek as she looked out the window at the sky where pigeons fluttered by.

The peaceful morning faded into memories of her dreams. Milly smiled to herself as she thought about the craziest dream she'd ever had. Such a long dream too! A dream in a dream even! She smiled, chuckling to herself as she thought about the crazy days leading up to a crazy wedding and thought about how nice it was that she got to look into Vash's aqua eyes. Not like she could do that in real life, he was just a sweet guy but completely unreachable. Why were such handsome men so impossible to reach? Then again, why was she attracted to him? Probably just like she was attracted to Nicholas, that dark and mysterious side, but Vash had that quiet side too which was just so intriguing.

It wasn't as if she expected to ever get married. She and Meryl knew full well that their lifestyle just would not work with marriage and children. Milly's family pretty much gave up on her after she wrote them the first time after getting her job at Bernadelli. Her mother wrote back saying it was good that she found a job and hoped she would become successful, but never once did she ask if there was a boyfriend. Not even one mention. Milly just accepted it, although perhaps internally, the side of her that dreamed still had hopes that she would finally meet someone.

Milly closed her eyes and rolled onto her back. It was just nice she could dream about it. She stretched her hands out on either side of her, yawning, thinking that she had the entire full size bed to herself, only to find a heavy lump on her left, and her eyes flew open. She shot up straight, her head swinging in an arc to see _someone_ in the bed with her. Milly flung out of the bed and stumbled in the sheets and fell on her butt, her eyes just barely above the edge as the figure wrapped in the covers rolled over to look at her.

"Good morning Sunshine," Vash said with a soft smile.

"Mr… Mr… Mr. Vash!" Milly squawked, panicked, looking down at herself, she was dressed in her pajamas which made her feel better but, "What… What, what happened? Why am I? Why are you? Why are we?" Her head started to throb and she untangled herself from the sheets to push up against the wall under the window, just staring at Vash as he pulled himself into a sitting position in the bed. He had a soft expression on his face, his kind eyes glowing as he watched her curiously. Milly saw that he was in his sweatpants and long-sleeved shirt too… If they… They _hadn't_, had they? If they had, then wouldn't he be in just his boxers? Wasn't that how the dime novels portrayed the morning after? Wouldn't she be in less than her pajamas too? Maybe that meant, "We didn't… I mean, we _couldn't_… Could we? I can't…"

Her pounding head overwhelmed her words and Milly found she couldn't speak anymore. She clutched her head but her eyes were on him, a panicked wild toma in a corral for the first time. And did her head hurt! It hurt like she was having a hangover… Milly's eyes widened. She remembered now.

"Then, with the power invested in me by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit… I pronounce you, husband and wife," Reverend Brown said, lifting his hands toward them, "You may now kiss your wife, Vash."

The room was hushed as they waited for the new couple to finalize the marriage. Meryl bit her lip, a large lump in her throat, unable to swallow it, she felt like she was ready to faint. This was it, this was the last nail in the coffin, wasn't it? She would have to give up Milly to Vash if they went through with this kiss… Her heart felt like it was about to break, and she wasn't sure whether it was because she was about to lose her friend or because she never had a chance to understand what it was about Vash that Milly loved…

Milly swallowed as Vash took her hands in his own. Her hands were shaking but his were completely steady. He wore white gloves, and Milly glanced down at them until he coughed and her attention returned to his face. Vash released his grasp and Milly started to think that maybe he was going to finally tell everyone the truth… Would he finally give up this prank? It had gone far enough, hadn't it? Milly started to wonder what it would be like to _really_ be married to him, and for some reason it wasn't really all that scary at this moment… But her eyes moved and she saw Mr. Wolfwood, and he had an utterly disappointed look on his face.

Nicholas was _sure_ he was right about this prank. He didn't think they would go through with it when he brought the rings out… He was going to return them to the pawn shop and get his motorcycle back… But he couldn't if they continued to wear them! So much for getting out of town! So much for having his chance to flirt with the big girl anymore. He couldn't do that to a married woman! Vash was reaching to lift up Milly's veil now, slowly as to not mess with a single ringlet framing her face. She was really beautiful, Wolfwood thought, no wonder Vash was going through with this with someone like that. Sure, she wasn't a tiny thing, but she certainly had a radiating inner beauty. Vash was a lucky man, Wolfwood realized. If only he hadn't left her when they first came to May City otherwise he would have been the one placing his hands on Milly's cheeks getting ready to kiss her.

Everything was leading up to this moment and all breaths were held, even Vash's as he let himself slip into the moment. There was no point in holding back now. Milly closed her eyes, she was trembling so much he put his hands to her cheeks just to steady her face to kiss her. "Sweet Milly… I will miss you." He said and set his lips to hers.

The audience burst into applause as Vash put everything he had into the kiss and Milly's knees buckled. Meryl reached out to stop her from falling, but Vash was faster, he swung her up into his arms, and Milly made a surprised gasp. "Hey!"

She was amazed he was strong enough to pick her up so easily, but then again both men she and Meryl traveled with were full of surprises. After all, she was in the arms of the Humanoid Typhoon! Milly looked into Vash's eyes as he grinned, "There's something we want to tell everyone," Vash said finally, and he let Milly down onto her feet again, but kept his arm around her waist so she wouldn't collapse again.

The room quieted almost immediately, the confusion was almost visible in the room. Vash smiled and he glanced over his shoulder at Wolfwood. The priest was holding his breath now, and so was Meryl, waiting anxiously for the news he _knew_ they knew already. He took one final moment to look over at Milly, her face flushed, and he licked his lips, she had put on some kind of lip gloss that tasted like cake, he smiled. "Thank you all for attending, but…"

A hushed gasp arose as Meryl and Wolfwood leaned in unconsciously ready for the news, and Vash grinned, "April Fools!"

"I knew it!" The maid of honor and the best man chimed together.

The room burst into confusion, some people were getting up to leave, others were laughing, some were just sitting in shock, and Milly realized that they had to bring their prank full circle or they'd make more enemies than friends… "But the booze is on us for helping us play this joke on our friends!"

Confusion turned into a joyous roar and Milly turned to smile at Vash. He squeezed the arm that still wrapped around her waist and he leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Thank you, _beautiful._" She blushed, unable to help herself. Milly stepped back and Vash released his hold on her to wave at the crowd, "Everyone over to the Sand Dune!" He slugged Wolfwood in the shoulder and the priest was glowing. "You win… Stubborn priest."

"You really had me going there!" Nicholas let out a sigh of relief. "I thought for sure you were actually going to marry her…"

"I might have," Vash said with a mysterious smile. Wolfwood's mouth opened slightly and Vash turned and trekked down the stairs. Let him chew on that for awhile.

"I knew it!" Meryl repeated when Milly turned to her. She grabbed the front of Milly's dress and laughed, "You're such a stinker!"

Milly grabbed her friend in a big hug and said, "I thought for sure we fooled you! I wish I could have seen the look on your face…" She smiled, "Oh wait, I _can_, hey Marco!" Milly turned and waved at a young man sitting in the front row. He was Lynn's brother, "Did you get the shot?"

"Sure did," Marco chirped. He patted his camera, "I'll have it developed for you tonight." He dashed out of the church before Meryl could say a word, her mouth was hanging open.

"You're _really_ evil! Where in the world did you learn to be so cruel?" She was smiling when she said it so Milly smiled in return, although she couldn't stop smiling anyway. Relief that the joke really _was_ only a prank rushed over her and she could have sat down and eaten a six-pack of pudding right then and there if she didn't have to think about how she was getting out of the wedding dress first…

"Where else do you think I learned it? From you of course!" Milly grinned. Meryl laughed and rolled her eyes.

"You had me going there, I'll have to admit."

"Good!"

Meryl looked up at Milly and sighed happily. Things would get back to normal in no time, and with that she was thankful. She sent a prayer heavenward in thanks and laughed. She glanced at the crowd that was quickly dwindling in the sanctuary, even the reverend and his wife had taken off to go to the party. "Well Milly, shall we go to your reception?"

"Yes!" Her friend chirped in response, but when she turned to walk down the steps, she stopped in her tracks. "Uh, Meryl?"

"Yes?"

"Can you help me get out of this thing first? I can't tell you how naked I feel without pants…"

As Milly sat on the floor, she looked up at Vash, still not quite remembering what came after getting out of the wedding dress. She remembered going with Meryl to the party, she could even remember the fact that they had a beautiful _pudding _filled wedding cake, the _very_ best kind… People were dancing, she even got up at one point and danced with Nicholas, then a dance with Vash, and she remembered that there were even presents… Money mostly since they had helped the children in the hospital, and she was pretty sure they had all of their money back plus enough to buy tickets with the caravan.

Vash was sitting still on the bed watching her puzzling through her memories, the smile staying on his face. "You okay, Milly?" It worried him that she was acting this way, so shocked. He wondered what it would be like if he were to ever actually get married, would his wife do that? Vash hoped not!

"I don't know…" She said after a moment, her blue eyes looking up at him, they were still confused. "We didn't _really_ get married, right?" Milly glanced down at her left hand. The ring was gone. Oh yes, Mr. Wolfwood took them to get his motorcycle back. She nearly sighed with relief at that thought, but if they weren't married… "Why am I in your room? Or are you in mine this time?"

The smile on Vash's face split into a grin and he started to laugh. He put a hand to his head to stop the tears as he laughed. She was so sweet! But the hand wasn't just because of the tears… A splitting headache ran through his head and his laughter dissolved into whimpers. "Oh man… I shouldn't drink so much…"

"Did we…" Milly said in a tiny voice, her hands in her lap as she watched Vash.

He turned one aqua eye on her and smiled seductively, "What do _you_ think?"

Eyes wide, Milly scrambled to her feet and pressed her hands against the window. "I… No… We… No, we didn't… I'm sure…"

"Really?"

Suddenly Milly wasn't feeling so good, she put a hand to her stomach, and she turned green. Swallowing one too many times, she felt ill… But Vash moved off the bed and was instantly standing in front of her. He grabbed her shoulders, "Calm down Milly, we didn't do anything. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"Really? We _really_ didn't?"

Vash shook his head and he felt ashamed to have pushed her. Milly was still wearing his necklace, and she put her hand to it unconsciously. She was so sweet, he put his hand on her cheek softly. He was glad she was still herself after everything that happened. An incorruptible. Milly would always be that way no matter what happened to her. The sunshine would still shine through her smile. "We really didn't."

"Really?"

"Really! Stop asking!" He released his hold on her and let his butt fall back onto the bed. Vash smiled as Milly's features relaxed. "I gave you the key to my room last night because you said you were tired and didn't want to go back to your own hotel. Meryl brought your things and she's in the room next door now." He settled back into the bed and pulled his legs up under him as Milly sorted through her memories still, finally starting to look relieved.

"But," Milly said after a moment, glancing out the window and then back to the gunman, "Why were we in bed together?"

Vash opened his mouth and closed it again, realizing he couldn't really remember the details of that question… "I know I stayed up pretty late…" He looked at Milly as the pieces of the puzzle started to fall back together in his mind. The picture completed itself and Vash swallowed and rushed to give her an explanation… "I was drunk, I didn't realize you were in the bed since I'd left you on the couch when I went back to the party…" He nodded, hoping Milly believed him.

Her blue eyes lightened and Vash felt a wave of relief run through him. She believed it. He'd skipped out on a few details that he knew he couldn't… Milly plopped down on the bed next to him. "Well then, I feel better." She smiled. "We're still friends?"

"Friends? Oh yes, of course," Vash replied. He got up from the bed and went to the window, fearing a blush rising to his face, turning his ears red. His hangover was pounding at his temples and he needed to take an aspirin. "Thank you."

Milly shrugged, "Thank you too. I had a lot of fun."

"Me too."

"It's better this way, right?"

Vash nodded, "It is."

"Good." She closed her eyes. "You know? When I really do get married, I think I'll elope." Milly grinned and Vash looked at her and chuckled.

"Might not be such a bad idea, just don't invite me to the reception… I think I've had enough of those…" Vash realized suddenly that he needed to go to the bathroom… "I um…" He turned and Milly was still smiling. Throwing a hand to his mouth he ran out of the room hoping to reach the toilet in time.

Milly stood up, "Mr. Vash? Are you okay?" She heard his response come in the form of throwing up. Milly grimaced, her hangover was already gone. "Poor Vash… He just can't stomach booze."

There was a knock at the door and Milly pranced over to the door to open it. "Good morning!"

Meryl stood outside the door with a box of donuts. "Good morning Milly! How are you feeling? You made quite a show of yourself last night," she said with a grin, coming past her and setting the box down on the table.

"I did?" Milly couldn't remember all of the details of that night, although they were slowly starting to come clearer, when she got drunk, she really didn't always remember everything. Maybe she should stop drinking so much too.

Meryl grinned, "Your dance on the table was quite interesting."

"I didn't…"

"You did!"

"Again?"

"Again!" Meryl patted Milly on the shoulder and looked around the room. "So, where's Mr. Vash?"

"Puking in the bathroom," the big girl responded. She reached for the box of donuts and took one for herself. "He really can't handle liquor, poor guy."

"And yet you seem to have an iron stomach," a masculine voice interjected. Milly and Meryl turned to see Wolfwood enter the hotel room through the open door. He was scruffy again in his old beaten up suit, his hair a mess. He had an unlit cigarette between his lips. "You drank more than the rest of us and you seem just fine."

Milly smiled, "It runs in the family."

"Yeah, and what about the dancing?"

"You saw it too?"

The priest grinned, holding his cigarette between his teeth as he did so, nodding enthusiastically as he put his hands over his head and wiggled his butt. Milly's head hit the table and she moaned. Meryl and Wolfwood laughed. The priest sat down next to her and grabbed a donut. "So where is Needle Noggin this morning? Did he wander in or is he still gallivanting?"

"I don't gallivant," Vash murmured, wiping the back of his fist across his mouth as he came in from the bathroom. "If anyone was, it was you hitting on those hookers last night."

"Me?" Nicholas protested in a voice three pitches too high. He swallowed, "They were nuns and we were discussing the religious aspect of…"

"Yeah, right whatever!" Meryl laughed. The priest sniffed and with his donut in hand, he stood again.

"Well, who needs enemies?" Wolfwood lifted the donut, "Thanks for breakfast, but I've got to go."

"So soon?" Milly asked.

Wolfwood nodded, he looked at the big girl and she looked genuinely disappointed he was leaving already. But he was days late for an appointment… "Yup." He winked at her and Milly blushed. Nicholas made a mental note of it for the next time he saw her, he was sure he would. "May the blessing of Almighty God be with you in your travels. I'll see you around Insurance Girls… Vash the Stampede." With that he went to the door and was gone.

Meryl shook her head, "He's one weird guy."

"You said it," Vash agreed. He grabbed a couple of donuts and said, "Anyway, are we going to catch the caravan out of town this morning?"

"Sounds like a plan," Meryl said. "I'm all packed. Do you need any help with your things Milly?" She watched her friend finish eating her donut before she shook her head that she didn't. "Okay then! It's about time we got out of this town anyway. I think we outstayed our welcome."

Milly nodded and pushed her chair out and stood. "I believe you are right, Meryl. Excuse me, I need to get dressed." She left the room and went to the bedroom and closed the door leaving Meryl and Vash alone.

Meryl opened her mouth to speak and Vash held up a hand, "I know what you're going to say."

"You think so?"

Vash smiled, "You're going to ask if I slept with her, aren't you?"

"Nope," Meryl replied. "I know you didn't." She smiled, knowing that if Milly could accept Vash at face value, so could she. Her friend was always a good judge of character and she had a feeling in time she would come to trust Vash too. "You're too nice of a guy to do something like that. I know that now." Meryl sighed, her eyes on the closed door, thinking about her friend. It looked like things were back to the way they were, just like she knew they would even without intervention… "I'm sorry about…"

"It's forgiven," Vash cut her off. The little insurance girl had changed quite a bit over the last few days, or maybe it was just his opinion of her. He wasn't really sure, but she didn't seem nearly as unstable anymore. Instead, she seemed surer of herself, more confident. It made her seem older and Vash watched her for a moment. It would be a long time before either of them would forget the events of that week, but maybe, just maybe, they would grow past it. He wanted to know her better. Milly certainly knew how to pick her friends, and he had a feeling he and Meryl would become friends too someday.

"Good," the little girl said with a grin. "Because from now on I'm personally keeping you on twenty-four hour surveillance." Maybe she would learn to trust him, but he was still number one on her list to keep an eye on for awhile. She already made up her mind _not_ to say anything about the past three days in her report to Bernadelli. Meryl had a feeling it was better forgotten.

"You are, are you?" Vash lifted an eyebrow, not sure if she was joking or not.

"Yup, and Milly's not to be around you without my supervision." Meryl's smile was tinged with something malicious… Like when he was hitting on Elizabeth in Enepril City. Vash felt a shiver creep over his spine. Meryl wasn't joking. She really could be scary sometimes.

"Whatever, as long as you keep the donuts coming," Vash grinned, trying to break the ominous cloud that was forming between them. He grabbed the box and Meryl stood up.

"Hey, those are to share!"

"You didn't buy enough to share!" Vash stood up and dashed out of the hall and Meryl chased after him around the table. He avoided her until he had a straight shot to the door and took the opening.

"Give those back!" Meryl's voice trailed off and the door slammed behind them. A pair of blue eyes peeked out of the bedroom door.

Milly smiled. "It's so good that everyone is back to normal," she said to herself. It wasn't the normal that she and Vash wanted at the beginning of the week. But it _was_ the normal they were meant to have and that made her heart glad. The game ended, and everyone won, who would have thought it was possible? Milly smiled. All things were possible! Milly glanced down at the necklace she wore and unclasped the latch, taking it off and looking at the little feather in the light. It sparkled and she smiled to herself, it was a good souvenir.

Turning, she went over to her belongings and put it in the small jewelry box her oldest sister gave to her before she left. It was completely empty, but Heidi said that someday she would have something to put in it. Her big, big sister was right. Now she did. Milly smiled and closed the lid and packed the box into her suitcase. Then, nodding to herself, Milly smiled. She couldn't wait to see what tomorrow would bring.

_Since is still being annoying… My author's note will be short here – well, what do you think? There's still tomorrow… This story isn't finished yet! I was certainly surprised in how many of you wanted them to get married! In the original version they DID… Vash had made out false papers – but Wolfwood went in behind them and made out real ones – but Milly and he never knew… HEH HEH HEH… Stay tuned.)_


	18. Epilogue

Epilogue 

In a rotten mood, Vash sat back in his chair that sat in the shade of a makeshift café. The caravan was stopped waiting for the demi-slat sprays. He had a feeling it would be awhile, in fact, people in the caravan said it would be a few days at the very least. It wouldn't be so bad, but for the fact that Meryl sat next to him, her watchful eyes on him as they had been for the last four days. The little insurance girl was true to her word, she didn't allow him anywhere near Milly, although in truth, the big girl did much to avoid him.

The moment Meryl sat down in the little café area, Milly smiled and said that she needed supplies so she was going to go shopping. Vash watched her go and Meryl ordered a coffee as they waited. "Stop looking at her," Meryl grumbled as she glanced at him. A frown came to Vash's face and he reached into his coat and pulled out his sunglasses.

"Why don't you just leave me alone?"

"I can't, it's my job to keep an eye on you," Meryl responded. She was all business again, Vash realized. How could such a young woman be so hard? He couldn't remember meeting anyone that mean in his life, and wondered just why she had let her heart become so cold. The insurance girl took her coffee from the waitress and sat sipping it. "Where are we headed next, anyway?"

Vash ignored her. A frown formed on Meryl's face too. Stupid jerk, couldn't he just answer her one simple question? It shouldn't have bothered him _that_ much that she was sitting next to him! He seemed right happy when Milly was still there and now that she was gone he looked like the evil humanoid typhoon that the rumors said he was. Why did he have to be so cold around her? Meryl sipped her coffee, her knuckles white on the cup, she wanted to punch him. Why couldn't Vash just talk to her? "Are you still mad about May City?"

"No," Vash said. He didn't say anything more and didn't look at her.

"Fine," Meryl spat. She turned her head and looked out at the caravan, wondering if she should go back to the truck. It's not like he could do anything in the middle of the desert! In fact, he was acting fairly inconspicuous since they left the city. Meryl hoped it would stay that way, but she never knew when something would happen and she would be buried in a mountain of paperwork again.

Glancing over at him, her frown faded. She put her cup to her lips again and watched him ignoring her. He was pretty handsome even when he was acting all mysterious and evil. Meryl turned her head as she heard voices of men as they ran by, "Where'd she go?"

"I don't know! But the boss is going to kill us if we lose her!"

Meryl's eyebrow rose, she glanced at Vash. "Vash…"

His eyes moved, a man nearby had turned to look at them over his shoulder. The man stood up and left the shade and followed the two men. Meryl sighed and set her chin down on her hand. "I wonder where Milly is, she should have been back by now…"

* * *

Walking out into the sunshine, Milly was smiling. Mr. Wolfwood stood next to her, his huge cross over his shoulder, a grin on his face as he looked down at the money in his free hand. "Thank you so much, Big Girl! Now I can get my bike repaired."

"It's no big deal," Milly replied, her hands in her pockets as they walked past the trucks and vehicles of the caravan. "I love playing chess, it was really very simple actually."

"Well, simple or not, you deserve to be rewarded!" The priest shoved the double dollars into his pocket and put a hand on her shoulder. Milly's eyes went wide as she looked up at him. Wolfwood glanced down at her with a grin on his face behind his sunglasses. "What would you like? Anything at all?"

Milly put a finger to her chin and said, "Well, I was trying to find pudding… I ran out this morning but I can't seem to find anyone who sells it."

Wolfwood retrieved his hand from her shoulder and slid his sunglasses down his nose. "Pudding? Is that all?" He smiled as she nodded enthusiastically. Boy was she sweet. How in the world did someone so innocent get placed so far out in the middle of the badlands? There were all sorts of evil people out here that would eat up and spit out a girl this sweet, and yet she seemed to be holding her own. Maybe it was her size, he mused. He was just glad to finally have an opportunity to be standing here with her now. Especially because, without her, he would have been stuck walking to his destination and being even later than he already was. He hoped his boss wouldn't kill him for the delay… Because he _could_.

With a shiver down his spine, the priest nudged his glasses back up on his face and hefted his cross punisher higher up on his shoulder. "Okay then! I'll buy you all the pudding we can find!" He pointed down to the semi-truck that doubled as a grocery store and Milly nodded and clapped her hands.

"Thank you so much Mr. Priest!" She glowed. Strangely enough, she felt so much better now that he was here with them again. She felt somehow complete, like a part of her was missing when he left. Milly nodded to herself as she followed them down the row of vehicles. She couldn't wait to tell Meryl. She also couldn't wait to see if anything had changed between her and Mr. Vash… Milly smiled. Leave them alone long enough, and maybe, just _maybe_, Meryl would finally admit that she liked him.

The priest glanced at her brilliant smile and chuckled to himself. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to hang out with the trio for a little while longer. He nudged Milly with his shoulder and she sighed happily. At least until the caravan started moving again. And maybe… Just maybe… He could manage to spend every moment of it with the big girl. Wolfwood returned her smile as they went to get her pudding.

_Keep reading… There's one more chapter…_


	19. Day Three The Lost Chapter

Eluding Meryl, Vash climbed up on the top of a building with his box of donuts and sat with it on his lap. He chuckled to himself. She'd even bought them at his favorite bakery. At least she had a good sense of taste! The little insurance girl always seemed to have exactly the right kind of donuts even in the middle of the desert. He had no idea where she got them all, or how she was able to elude his nose long enough to hide them from him… Vash always found them of course, and she always chased him to get them back, so he made a game of it every single time.

Munching on the last of the donuts, he craned his head over the ledge of the building and watched Meryl walk by, still looking for him. He ducked back and put the box to the side, wondering how much more time he had before needing to go back to get his things to join the caravan. Vash didn't have a watch on him, although he had an alarm clock in his bag, but there wasn't much activity this morning and he knew from previous experience the caravan caused quite an amount of confusion.

It was a pity he had to cut the morning short like this, but he needed to get away. His thoughts turned to the night before and there was a pang in his heart. He enjoyed the wedding with Milly. It was the most fun he had since… well, in quite a long time! The insurance girls, and even Wolfwood, made his travels so much more enjoyable, and he found himself looking forward to them being there with him. Although now that things were to return to normal, he knew he would have to close off his heart for a time.

Vash swallowed, if he _didn't_, he'd remember his emotions from that night… How he felt when he stumbled into the hotel room and found that Milly was missing from the couch. His heart jumped and in a haze he rushed from one room to the other looking for her, discovering after a few seconds, that she had managed to move herself to the bedroom. With a relieved sigh, Vash threw himself down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.

Everyone was completely fooled, they said it time and again, and they reveled in the fact that they had pulled off such a huge hoax. Some people grumbled that it wasn't quite the first of April anymore, so it was kind of a late prank… But most people drank themselves silly and danced the night away. Vash joined in and at one point Milly was in his arms, swinging around in circles, shaking her rear as she jumped up onto a table, right before she passed out and he carried her up to her room, much to Meryl's dismay. The little insurance girl followed them the entire way, watched as he lay Milly down on the couch and then forced him out of the room again to leave her alone.

But Meryl went to bed before he did, and she didn't have the key to his hotel room even though she'd managed to move their things to the same hotel, the room next to his. As he lay in bed staring at the ceiling, Milly moaned, and he turned his head to look at her. She was flushed, wearing blue jeans and a white shirt, it lay open slightly, most likely from thinking it was too hot. He smiled and rolled over on his side to look at her, putting his fingers to her hair to push a fallen curl from her cheek. "I could have actually married you today," he said slowly. He shook his head and pulled himself up, feeling his head spin as he did so. The morning would _not_ be kind to him, he realized.

Milly made a noise again and Vash watched her fingers go to her shirt, and he turned away, she was trying to get undressed! He blushed, swallowed, and turned, Milly was asleep again, and he had quite the view… Vash closed his eyes, this would _not_ do, he should leave, take the couch… But she looked so uncomfortable, the least he could do was take her shoes off.

He slid down off the bed and sat down at her feet, untying her shoelaces. Vash would miss being with her, just as he missed Rem, just as he missed so many people he left over the years. His family was probably worried sick about him, but he hadn't returned to the village in years. He pulled Milly's shoes off and set them at the foot of the bed. He couldn't go back there with the girls following him. It would be some time before he would shake them, or even being willing to.

Vash got back to his feet and looked down at Milly. Her shirt was hanging open and he glanced over to the doorway where Meryl sat Milly's things. She'd kill him. The little girl would just kill him if she found Milly in that disheveled state. Besides… Vash reached up and pulled Milly's shirt off. The insurance girl didn't make a sound. He looked at the scars that traveled down her side. She kept her promise, she didn't spoil the surprise, so maybe… No, Vash shook his head and unbuttoned her pants, sliding them from her legs and saw that the scars went all the way down her leg.

Turning, he folded up her clothes and placed them in her bag, retrieving her pajamas and returning to the bed. _This is merely to make her comfortable,_ he said to himself, pulling her up into a sitting position and maneuvering her pajama top on, before setting her back down and working on her pants. One leg at a time and then pulling them up over her rump, she remained asleep the entire time. He smiled, grabbing the covers from the end of the bed and pulling them up over her torso.

The gunman took off his shirt and went over to his own bag, glancing over his shoulder at the sleeping girl. He smiled faintly, _so much for the honeymoon!_ He pulled on his sleeping clothes and sat back down on the bed. "Well, Miss Milly… I guess I'm going to have to sleep on the couch now." Leaning over, he kissed her gently on the forehead and watched as a small smile spread on her lips.

"You don't have to," she whispered faintly.

Vash jumped, his heart pounding. His jaw dropped open, he started to think feverishly about her knowing he had changed her into her pajamas, that she knew he was there right then, that she was even happy that he was here with her… But… He waited, trying to calm his breathing, "Milly? Are you awake?"

She rolled over and mumbled, "I have enough pudding for now… We'll go out for more later…" A sigh of relief came from Vash as he realized she was just talking in her sleep. He put a hand to his heart and started to slide out of the bed. "Don't go, Vash…" There was a hand on his wrist, and Vash blinked. When had she done that? "Stay with me, please."

Was she still dreaming? Or was she awake? Vash sat back down on the bed, moving his legs so he could lean over and look into her face. Her eyes were moving under her eyelids. She was still dreaming, wasn't she? He licked his lips and whispered in her ear, "Please, don't play around…"

Milly never released her grip on his hand and he sighed. She didn't move except to breathe. He knew he should pry her fingers off of his wrist and leave her alone, but she smelled so nice and her hand was so soft. Vash swallowed, what would it hurt? It would break his heart, _that's_ what it would do… He set his head down on the pillow but moved to lay on his side to face away from her. He squeezed his eyes shut. No wonder love broke so many human hearts. This hurt nearly as much as losing Rem… He sighed a long choked sob. Milly was still holding his hand as he fell asleep.

Vash felt that same sob reach his chest as he sat on the rooftop. The tears rolled down his cheeks and he fought to wipe them away. He knew what he was getting into… But he still went for it. He still had the time of his life, and he was hurt because of it. He would never be able to love someone as long as his brother still lived, as long as there were still people out there trying to take his life… A gunman would never be able to marry, never be able to be happy the conventional way… He would never be completely human… Vash put his hands to his face and cried.

When his tears dried, he straightened his coat and set his features. Someday he would be free. And then… And then maybe, he would finally be able to play the ultimate game… Until then, it was time to get back to business. Vash stood and looked over the city. "It's time to go." He jumped off the side of the roof and disappeared.

RLS

6/02/05

* * *

_Thanks to everyone for reading! I had a lot of fun writing this story and I hope you'll look me up sometime in the future, there's more stories in the works, and if you've liked this story, I hope you've read some of my other ones too. Okay, sorry plug. HEH. Thank you really, I had so much fun with this and knowing people enjoyed the story has just pleased me to no end! If you like Milly and Vash, please check out my website, I have a doujinshi (it's not the best artwork anymore) but it was a cute story and I like showing it off. If you want MORE… Let me know, I have a ton more stories in this head of mine I'd love to share!_

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